It's safe to say that we have all had an encounter with Barbie during our childhood. Many of us might even consider her to be one of our first friends, and we treated her as such. The creators of Barbie are taking that friendship a step further with their new creation of Hello Barbie. This version of Barbie actually has the ability to listen and speak back to her owner. The doll uses speech recognition software and sends all recorded conversations to the cloud via WiFi. Additionally, all conversations are saved so Barbie has the ability to keep learning more about you, thus helping her inform her responses.

To say that this new version of our beloved Barbie doll has some ethical implications is an understatement. Although this is a unique and innovative idea, it pushes the boundaries of an individual's privacy.

The first concern would be the fact that all conversations are not only recorded, but saved. Essentially, this doll would have access to the inner and uncensored thoughts of children. On the surface level, this intrudes on privacy and introduces the question of who would actually be granted access to these conversations. If sensitive information fell into the wrong hands it could be detrimental to not only the creators of the doll, but also to families.

Secondly, it means that Mattel (the creators of Barbie) could use Hello Barbie to work in their favor, financially. For example, the owner of the doll might say she wants to be a soccer player when she grows up. Barbie could then respond by advertising Mattel's soccer Barbie, subjecting the child to the company's marketing.

Mattel has the potential to alter the features of the doll before it makes its way to stores in fall 2015. The company has already taken the initiative to instill some precautionary measures. The doll can only collect information from children under 13 with parental consent, and parents will have access to all recorded conversations.

Ultimately, it will be up to each family to decide if they are going to welcome Hello Barbie or leave her on the shelf. This choice depends on whether the conclusion is that the doll is an invasion of privacy, or the newest addition to a child's friend group.