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Welcome to the podcast. I'm your host Jayden Schaefer. Today on the podcast I want to talk about the most bizarre tech that has been announced so far at CES 2026. There's some crazy AI products, all sorts of crazy products. I want to break down all of them from lollipops that make music to new avatars that live on your desk. There is a lot going on. Before we get into all of that, I wanted to mention if you want to try any of the AI models I talk about on the show and if you want to build AI tools, even if you're not a developer like myself, I don't know how to code. I would love for you to try out my startup AI box. AI you can describe a tool or a workflow or something that you're trying to build and it will use AI models to create it for you will stitch together different AI models, fill up prompts and build a tool for you. It's all on our new builder platform over on AI Box. AI on. I'll leave a link to the description. I would love to see what you create. The first product that I want to talk about from CES is coming from Razer. It is you know the famously the computer, the laptop company. They make some of the legendary laptops that we all love and they have created an AI anime companion that watches you from your desk now. It is really hilarious watching their like they had a demo video all about kind of what this thing does. Essentially it feels like, it's like, you can imagine, like a lava lamp, basically, that sits on your desk and it has a hologram inside of it. So nothing like a lavalump, just a glass tube. It sits on your desk. It has a hologram inside of it of an anime character. Like, an anime person. So there's like, this video and there's this dude. All of a sudden, it's like an alarm clock. It starts beeping and he, like, wakes up and it's like this anime girl, and she's like, good morning. Like, we're gonna have an awesome day. Like, let's get started. Like, you should go pick out your green shirt. It has, like, a camera that, like, watches you and can see what's going on. Um, and then it's also, like, listening to you. And she's like, you were snoring last night. Anyways, so he's, like, going over to his. His, like, dresser to go pick out a shirt, and she's like, yeah, wear that green one. Look, I'll put on a green jacket, too. And all of a sudden, like, she's wearing, like, a green jacket. Okay, So, I mean, personally, I think this is strange. This is not something that I would be. I would be thrilled to have something just, like, sitting there watching me all the time. But maybe people will like this. I don't know. They also had a demo where it was like, this girl, and she's at her desk and she, like, taps it. And. And of course, it's like, for the guys in all the demos, it's always a girl companion, and for the girls, it's always a guy companion. As the girl, she like, caps it. She's like, hey, cutie, how's it going? Is like, absolutely ripped dude with, like, an Australian accent. And he's like, hey, how's it going? Like, great business brainstorming session yesterday. Anyways, apparently he helps her brainstorm business ideas. And anyways, then all of a sudden, she starts gaming and he's, like, commenting on all of the things she's shooting in her game. So anyways, I think it's kind of, like, funny and cringy and horrible all at the same time. But I think some people might actually like these. Just like a little AI person that's sitting there watching you. And I'm actually going to make a case for. I think, like, their ad did a really good job of making this thing seem kind of goofy. But I will make a case for why this might be a good product. There is a huge kind of growing community where people do this thing where it's like, watch me study. And they have like a camera and basically they're trying to become accountable to themselves. And I've actually seen people do it where they'll set up a camera and in the corner of the room and they're like, hey, I'm going to study. I'm going to make a time lapse of me like studying for my exam or working on my project. And they just like have a time lapse. Go through the whole day watching them and they post it and upload it and they do it literally as accountability. You're not going to stop and take breaks. You're not going to scroll through TikTok. You're not going to like basically waste your time if, if that camera is constantly watching you and it's going to be in your time lapse that you post later. And so I actually think that this could have some sort of that effect where like if there's a little, even if it's just a fake little person sitting there watching you. Okay, number one for like privacy and like feeling like, uh, it's an invasion of your privacy and the government or Amazon or whoever the heck is, you know, someone is tied on the other side of the camera that could watch you. I think that side of it is really creepy. It's why we have those little slides that cover the camera on our laptop cameras. Um, so for that element I think it's creepy but for the side of like, you could probably be a lot more productive if it felt like someone was watching the whole time. I can see why some people might like this product. All right, so that by far I think was one of the funniest ones. The next one is a AI Panda Stuffy that is for older adults. So the AI, the latest AI pet, it comes from Mind With Heart Robotics. It's a company and essentially they're, they say that their goal is to support elderly care. The panda has some high tech sensors all over its body so it reacts naturally when you touch it. It's quote unquote emotional. AI remembers your voice, how you interact, what you like. So the longer you spend time with it, the more personalized it gets. Apparently it is emotional support. Stuffed animal is what they say to combat loneliness. And if you are struggling with your memory, it can help keep you engaged and remind you about daily tasks and keeps caregivers in the loop about your well being. So if you have this thing all the time and you're sitting there complaining about something when your caregiver comes it can, like, tell the caregiver what's going on. Like, I see, like, it feels like they're trying to do a good thing with this. It seems sad to me that we have to resort to AI stuffed animals for elderly folks to keep them company if they're struggling with loneliness. I mean, if there's no other option, then perhaps this is a tool that could be useful in some sort of good way. But to me, it seems sad that this would be an option and there's not, like, a person that could spend time with them. The next one that I thought was sort of Ridiculous is a $500 ice cube maker that uses AI to reduce noise. Now, I love a ice cube maker just as much as the next person. When you have these ice cube makers that have, you know, ice that is perfect for crunching your teeth without breaking your teeth. And I'm speaking as someone who has cracked a tooth in half on a date at a Japanese restaurant before, it was very embarrassing because, you know, there's this massive ice cube I was chewing on in my water. So I really do like these. These ice cube makers where they make those really crunchy small ice cubes. I think they're fantastic. However, if they are very noisy, is that a big enough reason why you need to spend $500 and have quote, unquote, AI infused into this thing? So it reduces noise? It's kind of funny. They say that it has this patented noise guard technology that's designed to cut down noise. Basically, the AI detects when the MA is about to freeze up and make noise and then automatically defrosts before things get loud. What the heck does that mean? That AI detects when it's about to freeze up? Do they have a thermometer in there? Do they mean the thermometer's AI that's detecting that's getting too cold and it decreases the temperature? Like, I don't really know how much AI is needed in a device like this, an ice cube maker. I would venture to say no AI is needed, but of course it sells and it sounds funny. It's $500 and it can hold 3.5 pounds of ice at a time. So anyways, I think it's pretty funny. It can create ice in just six minutes and it can make up to £60 a day. So for all of your ice needs, this could be a good one for you. Okay, this is actually the funniest next that I saw. It is an ultrasonic chef's nice that vibrates when you are slicing. So there's a knife, and there's a button on it, like a red button on the handle that you can push. And. And it vibrates while you're slicing things. But not just like. I don't know, like a vibrating. Like, when I. When I first heard of this, I thought of, like, all the turkey knives that you see where. Like a carving knife, where it's like an automatic electric carving knife for cutting turkeys. That is not what's going on here. Um, so apparently this is coming from Seattle Ultrasonics. And the blade vibrates at over 30,000 times a second, which allows it to move through food much easier. Apparently, this vibrating technology means that the knife is a lot sharper than its physical edge, which makes things like slicing vegetables, meat, bread, a lot easier for cooks. And according to the company, the vibrations are so subtle that you can't see the blade move, hear it, or feel anything in the handle. It is a $400 knife, and it's currently available for pre order. So many thoughts on this. Like, somehow. And I might be a pessimist, but I'm like, if you can't see it or hear it or feel it, like, is it actually vibrating or is this just a $400 knife? And then pessimism aside, how much sharper could that possibly be? How much faster could it possibly cut? Is it a fun idea to feel like, you. Ultrasonic knife vibrating at 3,000 times a second? Yeah, that. That sounds pretty fun. But realistically, how useful is it? I'm. I probably shouldn't weigh in. I'm not it. I'm not a cook, but I don't. I don't see so much use for it. Okay. The final one that I thought was very interesting technology, but very strange use case is a candy company. It is a musical lollipop that plays Ice Spice in your head. Basically, it's coming from Lollipop Star. And of course, we have musical toothbrushes, so why can't we have music playing lollipops? I guess basically what they do is they have music that is delivered through bone conduction. So while this thing is in your mouth through bone conduction, if it's touching your teeth, I think then the technology sends vibrations through your skull bones directly to your inner ear. It also has. It has three different flavors, and you can choose from three different artists. Either peach flavor, you'll get to listen to Ice Spice. You can have blueberry flavor, and you can listen to Acon, or you can listen to Armani White if you have the lime flavor. I mean, the technology that sounds so fascinating that you're eating a lollipop and you can hear music in your ear that no one else can hear. The usefulness of that, beyond being a novelty, I just. I question it. But definitely one of the most bizarre things that has been unveiled at CES so far. Hey guys, thank you so much for tuning into the podcast today. If you enjoyed this episode, enjoyed the strange AI, the strange technology that's being announced. Make sure to leave a rating review on the podcast if you would use any of these items. And make sure to go check out AI box. AI to use any of the AI models in the world. For just $20 a month, you get the top 40 models. Great price. Hope that this is super useful to you and I hope you guys all have a fantastic rest of your day.