Strengths:
The strengths of this innovative toy would be that it gives children the attention that they need 24/7. Children could interact with the toy in a way that the more traditional toys could not for the CogniToys Dino can actually answer the children's questions, tell jokes, and "remember" specific information about that child (e.g. what that child's favorite color is). CogniToys Dino has IBM Watson's intelligence, which will allow the toy to accurately answer all the wild questions children ceaselessly ask every single day. In this way, children will become more educated by learning the exact answer to all of their questions.
Parents can also set restrictions on the information this Dino can give. So, if a parent feels that his or her child is not old enough to learn about a specific topic, then via the app on their smartphones he or she can lock that accessibility. In the end, the parental figures have all the control on their child's education via this toy just like they would have without this toy.
Weaknesses:
The weaknesses of this product is that not all families will be able to afford this toy and even the families that can afford it all will not adopt this new technology. This type of smart-interaction toy is the first of its kind, thus many people (especially parents) will want to wait for this toy to become a majority product on the adopter bell curve. By waiting, these types of parents assure themselves that the product that they are giving to their precious child is foolproof and the toy's company has smoothed out all of its rough edges. Only time will tell if we are all ready for this type of technology.
Opportunities:
CogniToys Dino will give children a great opportunity to mix education with play. This mixture will allow children to expand their vocabulary, imagination, creativity, etc. without feeling like they are in a classroom setting. This will allow children to absorb information much more easily and thus help children improve and get ahead in their schooling.
Threats:
The biggest threat that I foresee with this Dino is that while it will educate children, it will also replace a big area of a parent's job. All of the ceaseless questions children ask are mostly asked to their parents on a daily basis. This demonstrates that the child understands that the parent knows much more about the world and that it is the parent's job to share that knowledge with the child. The CogniToys Dino will be a threat to this unspoken rule, because children will eventually stop asking parents most of those questions and simply ask the Dino instead. Thus, it will cut down on the parent-child and child-parent bonding. Also by having a child turn to this Dino with their questions instead of asking the parent, children will lose the life lessons or religious lessons a parent might want to instill in their child by answering the child's "why's?"
While children who use the CogniToys Dino will probably have more factual knowledge, they will probably be less developed in the emotional intelligence that is also needed to succeed. It is this emotional intelligence that children first learn through spending one on one time with their parents that the Dino toy will more likely stunt.
Overall, this product will probably become a very successful toy in the near future. I do not believe that this CogniToys Dino will bring social good but I also don't think that it will be bad for society either. If used responsibly by parents and by children, this CogniToys Dino will definitely be a fun new way to get children more excited to learn. Unfortunately, if it is used irresponsibly, then this toy will probably further bury the app generation in a state of robotic humanoid and be less and less connected to the emotional reality of life. This toy will pave the way into the futuristic new ways of children interacting with toys. Be it a good or a bad way will depend on its specific users, and in general terms, only time will tell.
