To think wtaf - virtual children?

[CounsellorTroi]

An AI expert believes virtual children will be a thing in 50 years’ time.

nypost.com/2022/06/01/well-have-virtual-babies-within-50-years-ai-expert-predicts/

No thanks. My tamagotchis always died cos I forgot to ‘log on’ and feed them.

also I’m not sure about anyone else but my fav parts of having my kids is cuddling with them, watching films, going to the park and the beach etc. not the boring bits like feeding them and shit, that this seems to focus more on. I want to outsource that part please, so what’s left? Some gloves 😂

It's a grotesque idea. Completely bizarre.

My tamagotchis always died cos I forgot to ‘log on’ and feed them.

Literally my first thought.

My favourite part of ds is doing things with him. You can't do silly messy things with AI or snuggle on the sofa.

No thanks for me.

Not everyone can have kids so if it fills a deep void of pain and sadness for the involuntary childless to have a virtual child, then why not? It harms no-one.

I doubt it will take 50 years to be honest.

I think it will in fact be very harmful... it'll give a taste of what people who are unable to have children are after, but without any of the real fulfilling aspects of parenthood: knowing that a little human being is growing into a fully fledged adult with a personality and a will of their own, free to choose their path in life. That's what nurturing is about: growth, potential, the unknown...
A sophisticated computer programme is just a soulless code. It'll ruin the mental health of people who get addicted to it. Awful idea.

Read Klara and the Sun. It's about AI friends for kids. A great (and a bit creepy) read

Why not if people want to or find it helpful to them? There is a lot of research now that interactions with AI can be as satisfying as ones with people (like AI therapists for example).

Yes, except it does cause harm.

Grim I think, sadly because I'm thinking of the evil people who will use it for nefarious reasons. Unsupervised, unaccountable access to a 'child' you can direct to do and be whatever the 'parent' wants?!

People have those reborn doll things so it doesn’t surprise me.

" “Virtual children may seem like a giant leap from where we are now, but within 50 years technology will have advanced to such an extent that babies which exist in the metaverse are indistinct from those in the real world,” added Campbell, whose new book, “AI by Design: A Plan For Living With Artificial Intelligence,” is out this week."

Ah. Somebody (the 'AI expert' of the article's title) has got a book to push, and access to a lazy journalist.

Whilst I'm sure a few people will be up for this (and for some of them I will feel genuine pity), mostly it will be a fad. Sometimes a teaching tool for senior schools (in a particularly Tamagotchi way). Or as @MichelleScarn alludes to (yuk!). But it will not be widespread.

Maybe a bit off topic - but in the article it talks about the worry that, by 2100, not everyone will have access to the food and healthcare they need for survival. It's 2022 and this is already the case?!

...but on the topic of Virtual Children. Just because something can be done doesn't mean it should. It's a pretty depressing thing that every single idea can become a reality in this generation, regardless of the consequences. I can't help but feel like this is just another thing that preys on the vulnerability of others in order to make profit from online/virtual addiction.

It could be a useful device for teenagers to put them off teen pregnancies.

i also don’t get how people are taking about vulnerable and unethical

its a robot

Shall we ban wine too? It is harmful to the vulnerable after all! What about cake or chocolate? Anything appealing can be an addiction…

You can build in safeguards and code out the possibility of dodgy pervy types, it’s just AI after all. Code is code.

I’d rather fill my childlessness void with rescue dogs personally but if it helps someone who is sad or lonely, I’m all for it.

There's already virtual children. They're called dolls. Surely this would just appeal to the same age group?

I've had this idea too. You can already get silicone reborn dolls that look and feel incredibly realistic and ones that even mimic breathing, so I think it'll be an extension of that.

You can't snuggle an app...