The AI Mirror that gives compliments: Will it feed our growth or our egos?

Is endless affirmation on demand a good thing?

Is endless affirmation on demand a good thing?

Photo by Fares Hamouche on Unsplash

How do you feel about getting compliments?

You’ll know exactly how you feel about this.

And yet, so many people can feel very differently from how you might feel about compliments.

Perhaps you like getting compliments, perhaps you don’t mind them.

Photo by Jarritos Mexican Soda on Unsplash

But perhaps, compliments make you feel uncomfortable in some way.

So if I were to tell you that this week at a conference a new AI Mirror was announced that gives someone compliments and self-affirmations based on the way they look, how does that make you feel?

I think it’s very likely you’ll feel something about this new product.

However you feel about this AI mirror, I think it throws an interesting focus on how we feel about ourselves as humans.

And I think it raises important questions about the kind of person you want to be, the kind of relationships you want, and if that’s good for you or not.

AI Mirror on the wall — Who’s the fairest of them all?

This week at the CES 2024 conference ZDNET magazine reported a new product that was perhaps not your average gadget.

Tech company Baracode debuted their BMind AI-powered smart mirror.

So what can it do?

ZDNet reporter describes its features:

The smart mirror, which has already been recognized with a 2024 CES Innovation Award in the smart home category, combines AI and natural language processing (NLP) to analyse the sentiment of whoever is looking into the mirror through expressions, gestures, and tones. It then adapts to your current mood and provides light therapy sessions, guided meditations, and self-affirmations, to improve your mood and better manage your stress.

The mirror has a built-in 4K ultra-HD camera, a microphone, and Face ID as a security measure to unlock the smart mirror.

In many ways, you can see how this probably did deserve the innovation award for the way it has seamlessly combined many cutting-edge AI technologies.

Seems like a great product? Or do you feel it’s a bit creepy? or is there more going on here?

Affirmation and mental wellbeing

I’m sure you are used to new technology meant to improve our mental well-being, meditations on demand, relaxing music, and more.

And you might also know that many countries are experiencing a mental health crisis.

A World Economic Forum report estimated that 1 in 4 people will be affected by mental ill health at some point in their lives.

We also know that low self-esteem as well as other factors is linked to poor mental health.

There is also considerable research to support the idea that positive affirmations can have a beneficial effect on mental health.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Not only has it been shown that positive feedback can mitigate the negative effects of stress, but Neuroscientists have even shown that the brain processes verbal affirmations similarly to financial rewards.

I’m guessing these studies probably won’t surprise you, even if you are someone who doesn’t naturally feel comfortable with compliments.

Are there any differences between how many women give and receive compliments?

Some would believe for example that generally women prefer to give as well as receive compliments and affirmations.

You might be surprised (or not surprised!) to discover some research backs this up.

So where does this leave us?

Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash

You can see that poor mental health is a significant issue worldwide, and you can probably understand that for many people positive affirmations can have a beneficial effect on mental health.

So is getting compliments always a good thing for you?

Are compliments on demand a good thing?

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