Skip to content

The Answering Machine

A vision of a screen-free voice-first family.

Code Video Cerebral Valley

Core trick

A voice agent answers children's questions over a phone line while a background agent uses Browser Use to place library holds.

Tags

voiceeducation

Description

A vision of a screen-free voice-first family. Kids can get their questions answered by talking to the answering machine; a context aware AI that lives inside of a retro phone. Parents can check in on their kids interests. And in the background an agent uses Browser Use to place holds on books the kids are interested in.
TDaltonC/the-answering-machine★ 20 forksPythonCreated Feb 8, 2026 · last push Feb 11, 2026

README excerpt

# The Answering Machine

A multi-agent system that talks to kids, finds them library books, and keeps parents in the loop.

![Comic strip: A boy asks his dad how cement dries in the rain. Dad suggests asking the Answering Machine. The boy picks up an orange rotary phone and gets an answer. Later that week, dad gets a text about a library book and nearby construction site. The boy presses his hands into wet cement. Walking home, he asks another question.](docs/comic.jpg)

[Post about why this project exists](https://tdaltonc.github.io/the-answering-machine/)

## How It Works

A kid picks up a dedicated phone and talks to an AI agent about whatever's on their mind — dinosaurs, space, how cars work. The system listens, figures out what they're curious about, finds relevant books at the local library, places holds, and calls the parent to let them know what's ready for pickup.

## Architecture

```
 Kid picks up phone
        |
        v
 +-----------------+       +------------------+
 | Standard Voice  |       | 67 Mode Voice    |
 | Agent           |       | Agent            |
 | (kid-facing)    |       | (private, no     |
 |                 |       |  summaries)       |
 +--------+--------+       +------------------+
          |
          | transcripts + summaries
          v
 +--------+--------+
 | Background      |
 | Agent           |
 | - search SFPL   |
 | - place holds   |
 | - sync statuses |
 +--------+--------+
          |
          | books ready
          v
 +------

Team