If you want to get inside of your pet's head, the tech hasn't arrived yet, but one company hopes to have it trending in the right direction.
Los Angeles-based FluentPet has developed a series of tiles it claims help four-legged companions communicate with their humans. Through training, they can learn to associate various tiles with words they've learned over time and then use their paws to press them.
The tech has been a hit on platforms like TikTok, where tons of "talking dog" videos have gone viral.
There are a wide range of options to select from when it comes to purchasing the tech. Test kits start out around $35 with the most expensive option, They Can Talk Kit, being priced around $230.
The company also recently launched FluentPet Connect, which integrates the tile button system into an app. This helps keep pet owners connected to their pets at all times. If a person isn't home, their pet could send an alert, similar to a text message.
The system is available for an additional $69.99 but is compatible with tiles that have already hit the market.
However, devices like FluentPet and the studies that have been done with their subjects do face skepticism from scientists. Clive Wynne, the founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, explained that rather than language comprehension, the dogs are being conditioned.
“This is one of the most basic forms of learning in the animal kingdom," Wynne told the Washington Post. "The dog forms an association between an action and an outcome that it desires.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent the stock markets into a frenzy for the end of the week. Managing Director of Equity Research at Wedbush Securities, Dan Ives joined Cheddar News to discuss the shifts he expects for the stock market going forward. "It's going to be volatile. Put on the seat belts. I think we'll look back six, nine months. This was an opportunity, not the time to sell, especially some of the high quality names within tech — Microsoft, Apple leading the charge," he said.
Even amid the Great Resignation, the cannabis industry saw major job growth. As of January 2022, the legal industry supported more than 428,000 jobs — a 33 percent increase year-over-year, according to the sixth annual jobs report from Leafly, a website focused on cannabis use and education. Yoko Miyashita, CEO of Leafly, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. “You know we've got big moments coming ahead in New Jersey and New York with adult-use sales starting in New Jersey, hopefully by this fall, with New York quickly to follow," she said. "So we're hugely optimistic about the kind of job growth that those markets can drive with the right type of market setup.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
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