THE LONG READ: Now I have a brain - Barbie and artificial intelligence

With the help of AI, the world’s most famous doll tries to fulfill a timeless dream — convincing little girls that she’s a real friend. What will happen if they believe her? James Vlahossept reports

It looked like a child’s playroom: toys in cubbies, a little desk for doing homework, a whimsical painting of a tree on the wall. A woman and a girl entered and sat down in plump papasan chairs, facing a low table that was partly covered by a pink tarp.

The wall opposite them was mirrored from floor to ceiling, and behind it, unseen in a darkened room, a half-dozen employees of the toy company Mattel sat watching through one-way glass. The girl, who looked about 7, wore a turquoise sweatshirt and had her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.