Rupert Goodwins' Diary

Wednesday 05/08/2001

Sony announces two more robot dogs: Latte and Macaron. Smaller, cheaper and smarter than their AIBO ancestor, they're designed to react better to voice commands and respond to special signals embedded in a TV series that Sony's producing. Not the first time this has been done, but interesting nonetheless.

They're also supposed to look rounder, cuddlier and cuter -- but to me, they look absolutely terrifying. There's something about those round heads and blank eyes that puts me in mind of futuristic zombie death droids, and the thought of Sony HQ sending out commands to its armies of Trojan puppies sitting in the front rooms of the world fills me with fear, apprehension... no, abject terror is closer to the truth.

There are dark forces at work. In the far future, the wretched remnants of mankind will sit around piles of sullenly smouldering laptops and swap mythical tales of destruction, where the two gods Latte and Macaron stalk the land and put the stars to flight. And it will all be our fault.