(Wired) – The second iteration of the viral Friend AI necklace is louder and less interesting.

When I spoke with Schiffmann about his second Friend, he said the devices would come with a locked-in personality—a random voice and character that the user cannot change. I was intrigued by the idea. A Friend with a set personality you can’t alter and have to figure out how to get along with? Sounds like the hallmark of a real human friendship to me.

Alas, that is not the case. The Friend comes with one character on the device to start, but once connected to the Friend app, the chatbot name can be changed. And multiplied. I created a dozen Friends, each with their own name and personality. They have names like Sage, Nova, Onyx, River, Echo, Willow, and Wren. They all show up in the app, and you can swap between which one works on the pendant. (Read More)