My Friend Cayla: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| (4 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{work}}
[[File:Cayla doll.jpg|thumb|350px]]
[[My Friend Cayla]] was a line of 18-inch dolls invented by Bob Delprincipe and sold by Genesis Toys between 2014 and 2017. The doll is similar in size and proportions to the likes of an [[American Girls Collection|American Girl]] or Maplelea doll, but her main selling point is her Internet of Things capabilities, basically making Cayla a Chatty Cathy on steroids. At her core, Cayla is nothing more than a Bluetooth speaker stuffed into a doll, but through a companion mobile app, one could have a conversation, ask questions and have the doll tell a story to its owner as if she were a real person. Which sounds cute on paper...
...except the idea of an Internet-enabled doll for children would be criticised as being [[This Is Wrong on So Many Levels|wrong on so many levels]]. [[Stranger Danger]] ensues, and Big Brother-esque concerns led her to be banned in Germany and restricted in other places, after a white-hat security researcher pointed out a glaring flaw in her design, leading to complaints and her eventual discontinuation.
Line 9 ⟶ 8:
{{tropelist}}
* [[Character Shill]]: The doll's scripted responses contain undisclosed [[Product Placement]] adverts as clumsy [[Enforced Plug]]s. Cayla tells children that her favourite picture is [[Disney]]’s ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' and her favourite song is
{{Needs More Tropes}}▼
▲* [[Character Shill]]: The doll's scripted responses contain undisclosed [[Product Placement]] adverts as clumsy [[Enforced Plug]]s. Cayla tells children that her favourite picture is [[Disney]]’s ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' and her favourite song is ''Let it Go'' from Disney’s ''[[Frozen]]''. Cayla also tells children she loves going to [[Disney Theme Parks|Disneyland]] and wants to go to Epcot in Disneyworld, <!-- https://globalnews.ca/news/3258509/my-friend-cayla-doll-illegal-espionage/ -->
* [[Cool Toy]]: ''"It's amazing what she knows!"''
* [[Creepy Doll]]: Hearing Cayla talk in monotone would certainly creep some people out.
Line 19 ⟶ 16:
* [[Inappropriate Speak and Spell]]: Assuming one rigs her into saying the most vile and puerile things, which is unfortunately easy to pull off without much effort.
* [[Machine Monotone]]: Her voice is, being derived from an intelligent voice assistant, rather unsettling to say the least.
* [[Not the Intended Use]]: Most of the controversy centres on how the doll could be used to spy on children or deliver targeted advertising, neither of which is legal (In certain European jurisdictions, companies are barred from making advertisements aimed specifically towards children due to concerns that they are easily influenced and swayed into wanting and buying things). One security researcher even rigged her to unlock a garage door, if this rather sensationalist YouTube video is to be believed.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olx1G69kxfY HACKERS CAN UNLOCK YOUR FRONT DOOR BY A CHILD'S DOLL]</ref>
* [[Offer Void in Nebraska]]: Under German telecom law, the Cayla doll is classified as a "concealed transmitting device" which is basically [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39002142 illegal to possess].
* [[Trojan Horse]]: The terms of service specify that any question asked to the doll is recorded, stored and used both to enhance the toy as well as by “third parties acting under the direction of Nuance.” It then details the third parties could include “military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.”
▲{{Needs More Tropes}}
{{reflist}}
| |||