Tamagotchi kids: could the future of parenthood be having virtual children in the metaverse?

[Nomad4Ever]

Tamagotchi kids: could the future of parenthood be having virtual children in the metaverse?

According to an expert on artificial intelligence, would-be parents will soon be able to opt for cheap and cuddle-able digital offspring

www.theguardian.com

According to an expert on artificial intelligence, would-be parents will soon be able to opt for cheap and cuddle-able digital offspring

Technology has come on since the 90s. Campbell says virtual children will look like you, and you will be able to play with and cuddle them. They will be capable of simulated emotional responses as well as speech, which will range from “googoo gaga” to backchat, as they grow older.

The idea that kids are too expensive or environmentally impactful is very much a millennial and Gen z phenomenon. In the future, do you think some young people will turn to digital kids as an alternative in the same way some people raise pets? Do you think an advanced AI could be something you could form a meaningful emotional attachment with? If they AI is self aware, should "killing" them be murder and should there be laws about bringing them into existence?

Personally I tend to lean towards a self aware AI being a life form. But even before that point I think merely an advanced AI in the near future could reach "pet/child" levels of imitation. I can definitely see people getting attached to AI pets and AI "kids".

 

[Superfly]

Aw hell, I dunno. Can you pull out their batteries if they start to give you lip?

 

[americanwoman]

I don't think I'd understand the "cuddle" part. Like if it's in the metaverse you would be cuddling air, no?

 

[Nomad4Ever]

I don't think I'd understand the "cuddle" part. Like if it's in the metaverse you would be cuddling air, no?

VR I guess? I've seen people...uhhh..."virtually cuddle" in VR chat before.

 

[Crovax]

The idea that kids are too expensive or environmentally impactful is very much a millennial and Gen z phenomenon.

Is it though? People have been saying this since the early 70s

 

[americanwoman]

VR I guess? I've seen people...uhhh..."virtually cuddle" in VR chat before.

I've only seen it on a TV show, black mirror. So something more like that, where you are fully immersed in the universe not just like the technology we have now where you have a headset and stuff.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

Is it though? People have been saying this since the early 70s

Yes. Polling shows the number of Americans who want to have kids has been falling for a while now.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-ta...lts-in-u-s-dont-expect-to-ever-have-children/

 

[Crovax]

Yes. Polling shows the number of Americans who want to have kids has been falling for a while now.

Right like I said it's not a new phenomenon. People fought for abortion in the late 60s early 70s also there was a big hype about overpopulation then as well.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

Right like I said it's not a new phenomenon. People fought for abortion in the late 60s early 70s also there was a big hype about overpopulation then as well.

If you look, the two big drops in fertility were in 70s and then again in 2008. The 2008 drop is the one people are talking about when they say, "people can't afford kids" and "people don't want to have kids because of environmental concerns."

 

[Crovax]

If you look, the two big drops in fertility were in 70s and then again in 2008. The 2008 drop is the one people are talking about when they say, "people can't afford kids" and "people don't want to have kids because of environmental concerns."

Looks relatively consistent from the 70s until now

 

[Nomad4Ever]

Looks relatively consistent from the 70s until now

Yeah, if you zoom out to the point when people were having 7 kids lol. There has been a 25% drop in fertility since 2008.

 

[longview]

Tamagotchi kids: could the future of parenthood be having virtual children in the metaverse?

According to an expert on artificial intelligence, would-be parents will soon be able to opt for cheap and cuddle-able digital offspring

www.theguardian.com

The idea that kids are too expensive or environmentally impactful is very much a millennial and Gen z phenomenon. In the future, do you think some young people will turn to digital kids as an alternative in the same way some people raise pets? Do you think an advanced AI could be something you could form a meaningful emotional attachment with? If they AI is self aware, should "killing" them be murder and should there be laws about bringing them into existence?

Personally I tend to lean towards a self aware AI being a life form. But even before that point I think merely an advanced AI in the near future could reach "pet/child" levels of imitation. I can definitely see people getting attached to AI pets and AI "kids".

I think it would be a very short future!

 

[Crovax]

Yeah, if you zoom out to the point when people were having 7 kids lol. There has been a 25% drop in fertility since 2008.

In 1976 the fertility rate was 1.7, it was 1.6 in 2020.

 

[Felis Leo]

Tamagotchi kids: could the future of parenthood be having virtual children in the metaverse?

According to an expert on artificial intelligence, would-be parents will soon be able to opt for cheap and cuddle-able digital offspring

www.theguardian.com

The idea that kids are too expensive or environmentally impactful is very much a millennial and Gen z phenomenon. In the future, do you think some young people will turn to digital kids as an alternative in the same way some people raise pets? Do you think an advanced AI could be something you could form a meaningful emotional attachment with? If they AI is self aware, should "killing" them be murder and should there be laws about bringing them into existence?

Personally I tend to lean towards a self aware AI being a life form. But even before that point I think merely an advanced AI in the near future could reach "pet/child" levels of imitation. I can definitely see people getting attached to AI pets and AI "kids".

My wife and I have environmental concerns, as well as financial concerns because we live in the most expensive state to live in if you are middle class. But we took the plunge anyway. However, we do recognize that we are in a privileged position.

But as far as having AI children like a hyper-advanced "The Sims"-style game, yeah I can see people getting attached to the character they have created and it creating emotional problems if they were to lose them. But that is the problem: The "parents" are not the legal guardians of these AI children. The company that created them is, because these children are created by algorithms and their data is stored on servers outside of their "parents" control.

At best, the parents have a license to these artificial children, in the same way that purchasing a video game online through XBox, Playstation or Steam grants you license to use that game. But you are not the exclusive owner with absolute right to the intellectual property. What happens if the Metaverse servers go down or are corrupted? Or the company that creates them goes out of business and the servers which cost massive amounts of money to power have to be shut off? I cannot imagine a world in which a court orders a company to continue keeping highly-advanced computer AIs up and running no matter the cost.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

But as far as having AI children like a hyper-advanced "The Sims"-style game, yeah I can see people getting attached to the character they have created and it creating emotional problems if they were to lose them. But that is the problem: The "parents" are not the legal guardians of these AI children. The company that created them is, because these children are created by algorithms and their data is stored on servers outside of their "parents" control.

This is an insightful observation. While I personally dream of a future of open source software, it seems unlikely and it will probably pan out how you describe. However if Facebook released some sort of digital pet I don't think most people will be as forward thinking as you are. I can also imagine people having their accounts hacked and their "kids" held ransom.

Though I could also see these turning into more advanced versions of the real life robot pets we have now. People are already trying to do this, the tech just isn't there yet. In the near future it could be.

PLEOworld

I cannot imagine a world in which a court orders a company to continue keeping highly-advanced computer AIs up and running no matter the cost.

In the (likely) distant future I could see it if AI were self aware. At that point there is a pretty good argument to consider them a life form imo.

 

[soylentgreen]

In the (likely) distant future I could see it if AI were self aware. At that point there is a pretty good argument to consider them a life form imo.

I would argue that setting the bar at self aware is a bit to high when considering if something can be a life form.
Sheep are a life form yet demonstrate no self awareness beyond basic survival instinct. So if we had a machine that could mimic the actions of a sheep perfectly then how does that differ from a life form?

 

[longview]

I would argue that setting the bar at self aware is a bit to high when considering if something can be a life form.
Sheep are a life form yet demonstrate no self awareness beyond basic survival instinct. So if we had a machine that could mimic the actions of a sheep perfectly then how does that differ from a life form?

Therein lies the danger pointed out by quite a few Sci-Fi authors about AI, as it progresses to self awareness,
it passes through some fairly ugly basic survival instinct stages.
One writer described it like an angry toddler with a fully automatic weapon!

 

[soylentgreen]

Therein lies the danger pointed out by quite a few Sci-Fi authors about AI, as it progresses to self awareness,
it passes through some fairly ugly basic survival instinct stages.
One writer described it like an angry toddler with a fully automatic weapon!

I am yet to be convinced intelligence is a survival trait.

 

[longview]

I am yet to be convinced intelligence is a survival trait.

That goes along with this thread, if there are no kids, there is no survival past the current generation.

 

[Bear5131]

That goes along with this thread, if there are no kids, there is no survival past the current generation.

Of course there is if you go by scientists and their current understanding, every one is related to everyone else.

 

[longview]

Of course there is if you go by scientists and their current understanding, every one is related to everyone else.

I resemble that remark!

 

[RAMOSS]

Looks relatively consistent from the 70s until now

One thing you should also look at the correlation is 'infant mortality' vs 'fertility'

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Aw hell, I dunno. Can you pull out their batteries if they start to give you lip?

In a virtual kid, you could change their programming, while doing that for a real life kid would be difficult

 

[Superfly]

In a virtual kid, you could change their programming, while doing that for a real life kid would be difficult

So you’re saying there’s a chance?!

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

So you’re saying there’s a chance?!

A screwdriver, inserted into the brain from the eye socket, a homemade lobotomy vs a few lines of code