Give a dog a video phone? Information overload looms – Scotsman comment

We live in the Information Age – theoretically available 24/7 for phone calls, text messages, news alerts, social media notifications etc – so it was probably only a matter of time.

Labrador Zack makes a call with the DogPhone to owner Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas (Picture: Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas/PA Wire)

Invented by Glasgow University scientist Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, her 10-year-old labrador, Zack, and colleagues in Finland, the DogPhone enables pets to make video calls if they decide they want to get in touch with their owners.

During a trial, Zack made several calls to Dr Hirskyj-Douglas in which he showed her some of his toys, approaching the screen in a way that suggested he wanted to interact with her.

This may have been his way of saying “please come home and play with me” and there are probably quite a few people who would be delighted by getting this kind of call. It’s not hard to imagine that a particularly intelligent dog would call to warn an owner of an intruder or a fire.

However, for those already struggling with information overload, giving their phone number to even a much-loved pet might be a step too far.

But things could be about to get even worse. The Internet of Things is set to give voice to a host of inanimate objects, from the front door to the fridge.

So you could find yourself being inundated with video calls about a parcel for next door, the milk being about to go off, and Fido's insistence that it is time for walkies.

Enough to make the most patient and tech-savvy of us long for the good old days of carefully crafted, handwritten letters delivered in the post, even ones with a pawprint for a signature.

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