Can AI help raise children? Toy market executives think so.
Allan Wong, CEO of toymaker VTech Holdings, said that in as little as five years, teddy bears could read personalized AI stories to children, and robots resembling humanoid babysitters could be available in just a few decades.
Many companies now offer toys, apps and games that add artificial intelligence to children, with one robot, called Moxie, according to its maker, improving children's social skills by 71 percent.
One parent used leading chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard to help raise his 18-month-old son, William, and keep him entertained all day. Parents prepared an AI-made meal for William and participated in robot-recommended activities, then relaxed, watched a TV show written and produced by AI, and read a children's book written by AI.
The results showed that William was interested in stories made by robots, but not in ChatGPT's proposed healthy snacks for 18-month-olds. Both Bard and ChatGPT offer a wide range of options for kids. Bard offered William a fun way to expand his language skills and suggested making a sensory box of toys and pasta. Although William initially tried eating pasta, the proposal eventually proved successful.
Richard Conway, founder and CEO of Childcare, a UK-based online parenting platform, said: "There is no doubt that AI can provide some help in all aspects of parenting and family life, but we must remember that AI is still in its early stages. Just as we have to be cautious when using Google for medical advice, so should we be just as cautious when using AI to seek parenting advice. We should all remember that no matter how powerful our technology is, there is no real, human-professional, qualified expert to replace it. ”
Although artificial intelligence can provide some help in all aspects of parenting and family life, we must use it carefully, but I believe that in the near future, artificial intelligence similar to the scene in the movie "The Matrix" may really come.