We’re laughing but also scared of this man’s viral talking fish
Some people have pet fish and watch them swim around in their bowl, yet other people create their own fish — and even make them speak. That’s exactly what developer Brian Kane did, using Big Mouth Billy Bass (remember him?) as a model.
So, yup, a talking fish whose body and mouth move, too.
After all, many of us already talk to Siri on a daily basis, so why not a talking fish? We’re both intrigued and scared.
Kane’s inspiration? Perhaps Amazon’s Alexa, reported The Verge.
ICYMI, Amazon Echo connects to the Alexa Voice Service and is like a magnified Siri. Not only can Echo recognize your voice and play music, but it can also hear your voice over music. Plus, read you an audiobook. Oh, and did we mention it can do things such as control lights and thermostats, too?! And more!
However, when making his talking fish, Kane actually used Arduino, he told Mashable. It’s an open-source platform used to create interactive electronics. Kane is also a teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and had another purpose for constructing the fish.
“This piece was an in-class demo to show the students how to rapid prototype a concept and get it working quickly, so that we can test new ideas on people and make decisions, Kane told Mashable. “We’re looking at AI as artists and designers, making new experiences and using the design process to find out what life can be like in a world of intelligent machines.
Fas-cin-a-ting, riiiiight?
Regardless of the platform Kane used: WOW.
But why a fish?
“So much of the industry is dominated by engineering and business, but ultimately the success of these new products will be that people can make an emotional attachment to them, and that’s what artists have been doing for generations, said Kane.
So this means we’ll be more emotionally attached to something cute that speaks, like a fish, versus something like an ordinary speaker?
We get it. Though maybe we can request that Kane makes us a cute talking cat or dog speaker. (And preferably one that’s soft to the touch, too.) We can hope, right?
Here’s Kane’s Facebook post, where his fish has gotten over 880,000 views so far, and counting. Ahh-mazing.
