Put here but could have gone elsewhere .... Can't wait for tomorrow that we can enjoy this technological advance
An AI expert says virtual babies will be commonplace for couples in the future,
Adding that the metaverse should reduce the expense of having a real baby
On June 3, 2022 at 16:05 p.m., by Bill Fassinou
Catriona Campbell, a former technology adviser to the UK government and inductee into the British Interactive Media Association's Digital Hall of Fame, explains in her new book that in the not-too-distant future, those looking to expand their families may choose to do so. with the help of artificial intelligence. She believes that with augmented reality (AR) glasses and haptic gloves, virtual babies will be able to be seen and touched, and that settings can be adjusted to make them as realistic or as easy to care for as possible. .
The rise of virtual reality has led many people to take refuge in the digital space, creating meaningful virtual relationships. VR/AR headsets have given rise to new kinds of virtual interactions between internet users that big tech companies now want to bring together within the metaverse. The least we can say is that over the past eighteen months, the metaverse seems to have become the place of all possibilities. After talking about immortality and the need to punish murder in the Metaverse, supporters are now talking about the possibility of having children there.
In that regard, Campbell's book indicates that relationships in virtual reality will one day be so common that virtual babies will be normal for couples. With the cost of living skyrocketing in recent years, couples should adopt virtual children instead of having physical children. She explained that this phenomenon will become more and more common as technologies like the metaverse develop. As mixed reality is expected to advance more and more in the coming decades, many may choose to opt for a virtual family.
Campbell bases his predictions on the possible difficulties that couples who decide to have a child could encounter in the second half of this century. In fact, according to the US Department of Agriculture, the average American child costs parents more than $230 when they turn 000. By contrast, the British artificial intelligence expert estimates that a digital child could have all their needs met for less than $17 a month, or about $25 by the time they graduate from high school . Campbell hints that virtual babies won't be free.
On the contrary, each child will be a subscription that parents will have to pay for. If a payment is missed, the parents will have the child removed. While Campbell thinks subscription services might cost around $25 a month, additional services — like aging or changing your appearance — might cost more. For this price, a virtual child will have simulated speech with AI algorithms that will allow them to learn by spending more time with their parents. Like modern services like Replika, but more advanced, the AI will be able to decide on its own what it likes and dislikes.
Faced with poverty, epidemics, climate change and overpopulation, experts fear that the estimated 11 billion people who will populate the Earth by 2100 will not get the food, health care and other resources essential to their survival. According to a YouGov poll conducted in 2020, almost 10% of adults would have already chosen not to have a child for these reasons, while 10% would have cited the financial impact of such a project. However, with the internet now ubiquitous, computer-generated children will exist in the metaverse and come to life at the touch of a button.
“Based on studies of why couples choose not to have children, I think it would be reasonable to expect that 20% of people would choose to have an augmented reality baby instead. than a real baby. This game-changing perspective could help us solve some of today's most pressing problems,” said Campbell, whose new book, “AI by Design: A Plan For Living With Artificial Intelligence,” came out this week. Campbell believes that by 2070, tactile gloves should help parents actually feel their virtual children.
The AI expert called this vision of the family of the future the "Tamagotchi generation", in reference to the keychain of the 90s, a tiny digital pet that owners had to regularly "feed, play with" and even " cure". But in an advanced virtual reality environment, lifelike children could grow and mature in real time, without putting pressure on the environment and natural resources. Campbell is indeed talking about the first truly eco-friendly children and which could represent the greatest technological breakthrough in centuries.
“Although virtual babies may seem somewhat strange at first glance, it will lead to the first all-digital demographic. This could be one of humanity's most significant technological breakthroughs since the advent of the Bronze Age, given its potential impact on global populations and societal change,” she said. The technologist also suggested that parents' satisfaction could be even greater with virtual children, as they would have more control over how their digital offspring are conceived.
But still, she explains that the lifespan of virtual children could be pre-programmed, and exist in real time, or allow parents to "activate" them at their convenience, like children on demand. However, many liken Campbell's vision of the family of the future to scientific heresy. This idea of virtual children retains all the expense and hassle (even if it seems less at first sight) associated with real children, but offers no real benefit. Campbell talks about respecting the environment, but these virtual universes are not as ecological as they seem.
Indeed, scientists agree that the metaverse as we imagine it should require more than a thousand times or so the current computing power, which means more computers, more servers and more data centers. . So far, experience has proven that none of these electronic devices has a positive impact on the climate and even less on human beings, especially through radiation and waves. Data centers are so energy and water-intensive that large hyperscalers must turn to solutions such as green energy and immersion cooling to reduce their environmental impacts.
In the reactions to Campbell's remarks, many are calling for governments around the world to assess the risks associated with the metaverse and take drastic measures to prevent its development as in the case of cryptocurrencies and NFTs in some countries around the world. "I can't understand the metaverse and I'm both young and consider myself very forward-looking. I don't see any real purpose or benefit beyond what it is right now (VR games). Why would anyone really want some kind of virtual family or fake baby? asks one critic.
“Big corporations are destroying the planet so that the poor don't have the opportunity to enjoy life outside their homes, and they try to cram us into confined living spaces for their comfort as well. Membership for kids is dumb, there could be a video game or simulator for training, but the metaverse in general doesn't fill a hole. They're going to use advertising to trick people's brains into craving this shit,” another ranted. He believes that VR, AR, mixed reality, and the metaverse pose huge risks to the survival of humanity.
Finally, Campbell also said that virtual babies could be used as a tool for parents to test the possibility of having children before creating real ones, or to help parents who cannot have theirs find the right family. would not have been possible otherwise. "As the metaverse evolves, I see virtual children becoming an accepted and fully accepted part of society in most developed countries," Campbell said.
Source: Catriona Campbell (AI by Design: A Plan For Living With Artificial Intelligence)