Jibo-inline2Meet Jibo ($599), an 11-inch-tall “family robot” that’s able to see, hear, speak, learn, and help with a variety of tasks around your house. Think of Jibo (currently available for preorder and set to ship in April 2016) as Siri with more physical capabilities. Jibo can sing and dance. He can greet you and remind you to call mom.

Essentially Jibo is like a real-life Rosie, the robot maid from The Jetsons. He’s designed to sit on a table and do various voice-activated jobs, like look up movie times and buy your tickets. He can tell children’s stories and snap family photos using face recognition. He can place Skype calls and handle communications for which you would normally use a phone.

But Jibo’s potential extends beyond engaging in casual conversation and completing chores. Cynthia Breazeal, Jibo’s developer and a pioneer of social robotics at the MIT Media Lab, sees the machine as playing a big role in educating children and aiding the elderly.

While all of this sounds a little creepy, people seem to like Jibo. A crowdfunding campaign, launched in August, raised more than $1.5 million from more than 3,500 people, easily surpassing its $100,000 target.

What do you think? Should we let robot servants into our lives? If we outsource every daily task, will we eventually rely on a machine to have other, more intimate experiences for us? Learn more about Jibo here and tweet us your thoughts @dotcomplicated.

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