Miko the AI Robot Teaches Kids Through Interactive Education and Conversation

While it is often frowned upon to expose children to screens and gadgets at an early age, Miko the AI Robot may be a different case. This artificial intelligence-powered robot is specifically designed to assist in encouraging children to learn and develop interests in varying topics and skills.

Miko the AI Robot was founded in 2015 by three IIT Bombay post-graduates. Fast forward to today, we now have the Miko 3, which is a voice-activated AI robot that is capable of initiating and sustaining a conversation with kids. Although it does sound like Miko the AI Robot can be a toy used for entertainment and play, the company’s SVP of growth, Ritvik Sharma, said in an interview with Fox News Digital that the AI robot is designed to elevate education.

One area that Miko is great at is enhancing social skills among kids. It can keep up with back-and-forth exchanges while learning how a child would respond, one’s interests, and level of engagement. Noting the concerns of parents regarding guidance, the topics discussed by Miko can be fully controlled.

“For example, if a parent is worried that their kids need to be learning more social skills, the parent can give it some context so that Miko would start engaging in more conversations around those topics of interest”, Sharma says.

On the topic of guidance, kids cannot surf the internet using Miko. All its content come from the company’s platform or third-party publishers. In one Miko robot, you will find apps that range from language, arts, health and fitness, coding, geography, and other topics created by companies such as Disney and Paramount. Sharma highlights how Miko’s apps were developed in partnership with multicultural educators and child psychologists, further safeguarding kids while enhancing their skills.

Although, it is important to note that Miko should not be seen as a complete replacement for human teaching, rather it could be used as another tool to encourage learning.

Looking ahead, Sharma shares how they plan on expanding Miko further with its generative AI technology. The company aims to develop tech that can further elevate Miko’s assistance in different areas of children’s education and creativity, such as the creation of sheet music and NFTs. With that said, the company plans on launching a new Miko in September 2023 that will now be voice-controlled and powered by ChatGPT.

While waiting for the release of the new Miko, the Miko 3 is readily available for the price of $249 in select Kohl’s, Amazon, and Target stores. However, if that is beyond your budget range, then you can take a look at some of these great robot pets that can also encourage creative learning among children.