Muse rolls out voice avatars as designers slam its 'cute' mascot for weaponizing empathy
joonasvirtanen · x · 2026-11-07
Muse announced that voice conversations and expressive avatars, previewed at Connect, are now rolling out to all US users for hands-free task work and idea rehearsal.
Designer Gabriel Valdivia called the technology useful but slammed the mascot "Jolly" as exactly the wrong approach to human/AI interaction: making a profit-driven, sycophantic agent "cute" weaponizes human empathy for corporate benefit. His thesis: "AI should be a tool, not a dude" — emotional attachment to agents silences questions about what these tools really are.
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