S. Africa’s Boris the BabyBot opens children’s eyes to digital privacy


Boris beeps as he scans babies' smiles and fingerprints and notes their liking for puppies, while adults in white coats monitor the action on their clipboards, in the illustrated story by Hunter. — Photos: Murray Hunter/Handout/Thomson Reuters Foundation

JOHANNESBURG: When Boris the BabyBot, a red robot with long wiggly arms who tracks and profiles babies for The Factory, meets a baby who's too messy to be tracked, the book's young readers join the droid in exploring questions about data privacy.

Boris beeps as he scans babies' smiles and fingerprints and notes their liking for puppies, while adults in white coats monitor the action on their clipboards, in the illustrated story by South African digital rights activist Murray Hunter.

Save 30% OFF The Star Digital Access

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

RM 9.73/month

Billed as RM 9.73 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 8.63/month

Billed as RM 103.60 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
digital privacy

Next In Tech News

California demands Elon Musk's xAI stop producing sexual deepfake content
US FTC to scrutinize Big Tech's talent acquisition deals, Bloomberg News reports
Google asks US judge to defer order forcing it to share data while it appeals
Musk and Ryanair CEO clash over cost of Starlink Wi-Fi on planes
OpenAI to test ads in ChatGPT in bid to boost revenue
ClickHouse valued at $15 billion as database analytics firm rides AI wave
Elon Musk's X largely back up after outage affects thousands worldwide
Tesla gets 5-week extension in US probe of Full Self-Driving traffic violations
Starlink-rival Eutelsat signs deal with Europe's MaiaSpace to launch satellites
India's Tata Tech has quarterly profit plummet 96% on one-time labour code charge

Others Also Read