Can artificial intelligence revolutionize the way we raise children? According to top executives in the toy industry, it just might. Allan Wong, the CEO of VTech Holdings, predicts that within five years, AI-powered teddy bears could read personalized stories to kids, while humanoid nannies could become a reality within a few decades. Various companies are already offering AI-enhanced toys, apps, and games designed specifically for children. One such example is Moxie, a robot that claims to improve social skills in 71 percent of children.
Curious about the potential of AI in parenting, I decided to put cutting-edge AI programs to the test. I enlisted the help of leading bots like ChatGPT and Google Bard to help me entertain and take care of my 18-month-old son, William, for an entire day. With the assistance of AI, I served William meals crafted by AI and engaged in activities suggested by the technology. We even unwound with some television scripted and produced by AI, and read a children’s book written by AI. I was eager to see how William would respond to having his day planned by artificial intelligence.
Richard Conway, CEO & Founder of UK-based online platform Childcare, acknowledged that AI can indeed provide some assistance in parenting and family lives. However, he emphasized the importance of remembering that AI is still in its early stages. Similar to being cautious when using Google for medical advice, Conway suggested treating AI parenting advice with the same level of caution. He stressed that there is simply no substitute for real, human professional and qualified experts, regardless of how advanced our technology becomes.
The results of my experiment were mixed. Surprisingly, William seemed enthralled by the AI entertainment, but he expressed uncertainty about some of the other choices made by the AI. One particularly successful experiment involved ChatGPT writing a short children’s story about a friendly wolf named Wally. Despite the story’s simplicity, William was captivated. I also used an application called Midjourney, which utilizes AI to produce images based on text prompts, to create illustrations for the story. While the art style wasn’t consistent and occasionally deviated from the story, William still loved the illustrations.
Next, I turned to AI for meal suggestions, consulting both Google Bard and ChatGPT. However, the suggested recipes proved to be more complicated and involved expensive ingredients that I wouldn’t typically use when cooking for William. ChatGPT did provide some helpful safety warnings regarding certain ingredients for infants, such as not feeding honey to babies under one year old. Unfortunately, despite the precautions, William refused to eat the AI-generated “Fruit and Yogurt Parfait” and burst into tears.
To lighten the mood, I decided to watch television together. I used the story written by ChatGPT earlier to create a video using the AI animation app, Pictory. Within a short span of ten minutes, Pictory transformed the story into an engaging video, complete with text on screen and stock footage of wolves, rabbits, and carrots. Much to my surprise, William absolutely loved it, pointing excitedly at the screen and even correctly identifying a rabbit as “bunny.”
Both Google Bard and ChatGPT proved their usefulness when it came to suggesting activities for children. Bard provided ideas to boost William’s language skills, such as expanding on his current vocabulary. Although William seemed unsure at first, this is normal for his age. Bard also suggested creating a sensory bin filled with toys and pasta. Initially, there was a mishap when William tried to eat the pasta, but overall, he had a great time with the activity.
In conclusion, while AI has its limitations, it undeniably has the potential to assist parents in various aspects of raising children. From entertaining them with AI-generated stories and videos to providing activity ideas, AI can play a role in enhancing parenting experiences. However, as Richard Conway rightly noted, it is crucial to remember that AI is still in its early stages. At the end of the day, nothing can replace the care and expertise of real, human professionals when it comes to parenting.
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