Video of the Week: Ongo by InteractionLabs

"Think of it as a cat, trapped inside the body of a desk lamp ..."

Now, I'm no marketing guru but I'm guessing that, as a brand new product, this is not the strapline you're really wanting your tech guys to be pushing out there in the world.

This video starts, rather unpromisingly, with the guys fixing one of the lamp's eyes that has fallen out. That's the first thing you register. Again, maybe some marketing expertise might have helped here - I'm not sure I want a V1.0 of something that is already breaking.

The chaps are pleasant enough, pitching the Toy Story / Pixar association neatly and getting us to think about their charming lamp animation.

But Ongo doesn't look like that lamp. Insisting that it's 'adorable' doesn't make me forget the popped-out eye. There's a Wall-E vibe to it too, recalling that it got crushed and broken as well, poor thing.

I don't dislike the idea - ambient AI is the future and it will be everywhere. Is its 'final form' going to be a lamp? Something that is literally tied to your desk? That feels somewhat presumptive, as OpenAI powers-up its collaboration with Jony Ive, the iPhone creator.

It's not quite in the 'Rabbit R1' territory (yet) but it does seem to be rushed - and difficult to build a moat around (can't every desk lamp provider just add an AI microphone to theirs?)

Also, I deeply worry about the marketing. They need help, fast. No one buys a product that even the advert says breaks easily. Unless they delete this video and start again, I think Ongo's adorableness might remain in the eye (and on the desk) of its creators.