As if widespread addiction to online communities like MySpace and EverQuest aren't resulting in enough antisocial misfits in the world, soon children will have the chance to become bereft of real-life friends at a much younger age with the help of Rogun, a robotic babysitter that comes to us courtesy of the Korean company KornTech. There's no disputing that the 3-foot-tall Rogun is a veritable feat of engineering and ingenuity, what with its ability to recognize familiar faces, call you when it detects an intruder in your home, and serve as a wireless home-monitoring device. But to borrow a cautionary word from healthy eating advocates, just because it tastes good doesn't mean it's good for you.

Sure, even at an expected price of $5,000 once it becomes commercially available, Rogun should save parents money on babysitting in the long run (assuming its shelf life is longer than that of the average PC). But it's not the money they should be worried about, but rather the potential destruction of whatever remains of their children's social skills. Remember, unlike the babysitter, Rogun never leaves, so it's not hard to imagine busy parents eventually looking upon this bucket of bolts as an actual family member. I can hear the exchanges now: "Mommy, I'm bored." "Well, honey, why don't you go play house with Rogun?"

Then again, if Rogun can cook and clean, too, then maybe it's worth the trade-off. — Tony Kontzer

Korntech, via Ubergizmo