A Japanese toy company has designed a doll with artificial intelligence to help tackle loneliness among older people isolated by the coronavirus pandemic. Takara Tomy toy company, which unveiled the new toy Wednesday, said inspiration for the doll came during the pandemic amid an increased demand for interactive products specifically designed for older people. With the use of AI and facial recognition, the doll, dubbed Ami-chan, can converse, react and'connect' with its user. The doll has been designed to look like a grand-daughter and has a child's voice rather than a robotic one. She is 30 centimeters tall and has a calendar function that recognizes the different seasons and remembers birthdays.

Technology and artificial intelligence which were previously seen as a threat are now part of the solution to problems created by the coronavirus pandemic, according to technology analyst Josep Lluís Micó. La revolución digital en la época del coronavirus in its original Spanish title), tells Efe that digital change has been accelerated exponentially by Covid-19, which has posed a major challenge for science, shaken the most advanced economies and turned everyone's lives upside down. QUESTION: What do you think about the European Union's attitude towards AI before the pandemic? It was planning to limit its activity in areas such as health. Do you think that scenario will be affected by the pandemic?