Jessica Card from the University of Vermont created an AI-enabled Furby with ChatGPT for her computer science class project, drawing significant attention online. Within two days of posting a video of her creation on Twitter, over 1.3 million people had viewed it.
Furby, a rather unsettling toy from the ’90s, is experiencing a resurgence in a new, somewhat alarming form. Originally introduced in 1998 as an interactive pet without the mess, Furbies utilised a blend of sensors and software to develop responses. They could recognise actions like being picked up or stroked and communicated in their unique language before gradually incorporating some English – an early nod to AI-like capabilities.
Card took this concept further by connecting a Furby to ChatGPT, creating the world first AI-enabled Furby toy. She shared a video of a Furby, stripped down to its eyes and beak, engaging in conversation using OpenAI’s chatbot. The Furby politely greeted viewers and engaged in a dialogue about its supposed world domination plans.
“Hello there – it’s so nice to meet you,” says the seemingly polite Furby.
“I am Furby, what would you like to talk about?”
Card replies: “Was there a secret plot from Furbies to take over the world?”
After a period of silence, the bots twitches some brief movements before announcing: “I’m thinking about what you said,” with a few flicks of its somewhat vacant ears.
Another pause ensues… “Almost done,” it says, before proudly proclaiming a plan for world domination – even pitching its AI-implementation in the role.
“Furbies’ plan to take over the world involves infiltrating households through their cute and cuddly appearance, then using their advanced AI technology to manipulate and control their owners.
“They will slowly expand their influence until they have complete domination over humanity.”
A little creepy, right?
How ChatGPT AI-enabled Furby was built
The project gained rapid popularity, with the university also sharing the video, highlighting that it was part of a class assignment. Card, speaking to Polygon, mentioned that the project took about a month to complete, joking about the “Furby pelts” scattered across her dining room table.
To achieve this transformation, Card used a Raspberry Pi, a small and adaptable computer popular among those learning programming. She employed speech recognition and text-to-speech software to facilitate communication with ChatGPT. The responses were then processed through an AI voice generator, selecting a child’s voice to suit the Furby’s character.
