I watched an AI collar make a dog talk, and it was unreal
All of us talk to our pets, but what if our pets could talk back? That?s the premise of Personifi AI?s Shazam Band, a wearable that puts your pet?s mood, movements, and emotions into words. By using AI, it actually makes a two-sided conversation possible.
If all this sounds crazy, it?s only the beginning of what makes the Shazam Band one of the maddest pieces of tech we?ve seen in a while. And if I hadn?t actually seen it working, I doubt I?d believe it was real.
This is Shazam, an AI pet collar
Shazam (no, not that one) comes in two sizes, one for a dog and one suitable for cats, and is worn like a collar. It contains various sensors, including a 6-axis gyroscope, GPS, temperature sensor, speaker, and microphone. There?s a battery inside that lasts for several weeks on a charge and another battery in the box, so you can always have one charged up and ready to go. It uses AI to interpret your pet?s movements and actions and the tone you use when speaking to it to create verbal responses that reflect your pet?s intentions, thoughts, and personality.
I know. It sounds either staggeringly stupid or like the best thing ever, depending on your level of pet obsession. But stay with me, as it?s way better thought out than you may expect.
Wondering how Shazam interprets what your pet is thinking accurately enough to put it all into words that match your pet?s personality? The company has teamed up with Matt Beisner, a dog trainer best known for the Dog: Impossible show on Disney+, to train the AI, along with social media voice-over sensation Bobby Johnson, also known as ?The RxckStxr,? and voice actor Jorjeana Marie.
Another key member of the team is Roscoe, Personifi AI?s founder and CEO John McHale?s dog. Roscoe is one of several hundred animals that have already been training the AI. Over a short Zoom video call ahead of the announcement, I saw Roscoe interact with McHale and other members of the team through Shazam. Not just tail-wagging, bouncing-up-and-down interaction, but verbal interaction. No, I haven?t gone crazy; it?s as barking mad as it sounds.
One of the strangest tech demos I?ve seen
When I spoke to McHale, it was early morning at their offices, and Roscoe had not been fed or walked and was apparently a little grumpy at being woken up. We laughed at the prospect of running a tech demo using an animal, a wearable, and an AI system interpreting its actions and operating in real time and how it was a recipe for things to go wrong. In reality, the next few moments were an eye-opening glimpse of a Dr. Doolittle-style future.
Roscoe was asked if he wanted to go for a walk and chase squirrels, as well as if he had been fed yet, all spoken in that usual rhetorical way we speak to pets. Except through Shazam, Roscoe replied. Not in that if-you-listen-hard-I-think-he-said-sausages way, but actually talked.
Well, Roscoe didn?t talk, but the words came from the speaker on the Shazam wearable and in a voice that brought out Roscoe?s lackadaisical personality. Yes, he was hungry, the squirrels were likely to get chased, and he was frustrated that none of these things had happened. The voice and style will be familiar to anyone who watches Bobby Johnson?s voice-over comedy skits.
No, I haven?t gone crazy; it?s as barking mad as it sounds.
It was one of the most bizarre tech demos I?ve seen, and I smiled and laughed throughout, my mind flip-flopping between childish joy and complete bewilderment. You won?t be discussing Tolstoy with your Shazam-wearing pet, but you will see a new side to its personality.
However, there?s the potential for a more serious use case too. McHale explained that he got the idea after Roscoe had been bitten by a snake and managed to hide the problem, but was clearly not himself. Roscoe eventually underwent several serious surgeries and survived, but if he had been able to say he?d been bitten by a snake, then things could have been taken care of far sooner.
Does it turn your pet into an AI chatbot?
Even with Shazam, Roscoe is unlikely to have been able to articulate he?d been bitten by a snake, but he may have been able to vocalize that he wasn?t well in a way we could quickly understand and act upon. Any resulting vet visit would have been memorable, too, that?s for sure.
Shazam may also be able to help your pet vocalize concern for you, bringing further emotional support to the moment when they come over and check in, as they seemingly understand that you?re sad, unwell, or in need of a furry hug.
Because Shazam is AI-driven and always learning, it?s not like getting a series of canned responses that approximate emotion. It?s more like an AI chatbot, but rather than being a voice from an empty vessel, Shazam takes real emotions and your pet?s personality, or the personality you give it, and blends them into a voice, so it shouldn?t come across as something it?s not or a completely artificial fabrication. Shazam has a choice of 27 characters, each with its distinct persona and tone ranging from a witty Southern belle to a fast-talking mafia boss, plus the ability to further craft individual personality traits through the app. Several voices are available in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese as well.
The app also shows activity tracking data from the Shazam collar, and the built-in GPS keeps track of your pet, plus it has a geofencing feature to encourage it to stay within certain set boundaries. It does so by verbally telling the pet through the speaker that it?s going where it shouldn?t, as if it were its own subconscious, which should confuse the neighbors. You set a single voice as the primary caregiver and can program other secondary voices as well, to both add safety and keep things simple for the pet.
Giving your pet a voice isn?t cheap
Putting words in your pet?s mouth is not going to be cheap. The Shazam wearable is $495 for the small version and $595 for the large version, and this includes one voice option and access to the app for a year. If you want to change voices, it?s $99 each time, and there?s a $295 subscription for every year after the first. Preorders begin on October 25, and orders will ship in February 2025.
Only you know if it?s worth it
We already recognize and try to understand our pet?s personalities and emotions. Shazam takes it to the next level by vocalizing those emotions in a language we understand. When you see it in action for the first time, it may look and sound a bit silly, but after a few moments, you will understand how much fun could be had with it and even how it could help keep your pet safe and healthy, too. How long that fun will last after the novelty has worn off is the big question. There?s also the considerable expense to find out.
Shazam is such a crazy product that you?re either going to walk away after seeing it, desperate to put in your order, or think it?s one of the most ridiculous things ever made. The voices and characters created by Personifi AI won?t be for everyone either, and the ones I heard went hard on their chosen hook ? the superhero character was like an even more hyped-up Buzz Lightyear, for example. I imagine they could get quite grating. Though, if you don?t want Shazam/your pet to interrupt you, it?s as simple as saying ?quiet,? just as you would normally do.
Every owner has wondered what their pet would say if it could talk, and Shazam does make it possible to somewhat answer that question. As to whether it works in the real world and outside the confines of a very short demo remains to be seen, but I came away from seeing Shazam in action thinking that there are going to be a lot of crazy cat and dog people out there who will lap this insane piece of tech up, no matter the cost.
