Prego, the pasta sauce company, has created a device called The Connection Keeper that records family dinners. It's not just another smart home gadget; it aims to get us off our phones and back to talking face-to-face.
The round puck houses two microphones and comes with conversation-boosting cards. While the device is currently more of a novelty than something you'd buy for your home, Prego hopes it will spark meaningful conversations during meals.
‘Everything now is AI, and everyone has their phones on the table,’ says Elyce Henkin from StoryCorps. ‘We wanted to get rid of that and go back to basics.’
The device records only when you press a button and saves the audio on a microSD card. Any recordings can be shared with StoryCorps, which will preserve them in its collection at the US Library of Congress.
Considering the loud family gatherings typical among Italian-American households, The Connection Keeper might face some challenges keeping up with the conversation. But perhaps it’s what families are all about – chaos and all.
