CES 2018

Sony’s newly minted Aibo (the wonder robot dog) drew crowds in the Sony booth, marveling at its nearly real actions (though he moved slower than a live animal). Aibo can learn new tricks apart from those he comes pre-programmed with, bark/sing (actually a quiet squeak), blink his eyes, fetch a ball, look in your direction when called, respond to touch at several sensitive points (his back, the top of his head, and his chin), interact with a second Aibo (as he did in the show demo) or a real dog, and automatically head back to his charging station when the battery gets low.

This may have nothing to do with audio or video, but has a lot to do with a main theme of this year's CES—artificial intelligence, or AI. But if you’re also a dog lover (like me), resistance is futile. Last I heard, however, Aibo's price approached $2000, so sadly I do resist. There are no Sony plans for the feline equivalent, however, who would likely just look at you with a bored expression, purr, roll over, and go back to sleep.