AI Developer Says Parents Won’t Want Their Babies After This
(RightWing.org) – Have you ever wondered what it would be like never to have kids? What about having kids in the metaverse? It’s an idea that seems far-fetched and incomprehensible, yet some believe it’s possible in the not-so-distant future. Virtual reality is changing how people interact with the environment and others. It may also change how we interact with our families or even redefine family.
Over the last few decades, some have argued that human beings are overpopulating the planet. Along with overpopulation, or so the theory goes, people are destroying the Earth through urban sprawl, pollution, and climate change. So, is technology preparing to solve the overpopulation problem, or is overpopulation an argument that’s about to become extinct?
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Babies
According to the UK’s leading authority on artificial intelligence (AI), Catriona Campbell says in her new book that within 50 years, technology will be so advanced that babies will exist in the metaverse.
That begs the question, what is the metaverse?
Wired says the metaverse is a complex term that doesn’t refer to any single piece of technology. Instead, the term refers to a broad shift in how people interact with technology. Today, virtual reality captures the essence of the metaverse. Ultimately, the goal is to merge the digital and physical worlds together. Some use it to play games such as Fortnite, but there are emerging uses for the technology.
Campbell believes that the metaverse and AI will one day become so powerful that couples could have a baby in the metaverse. Of course, it won’t be real, but it sure will feel like it to some degree. The AI expert said virtual babies would look just like their parents, and they would be able to cuddle and play with them. Digital baby parents can even watch them grow older. Campbell noted that the digital child would also respond emotionally and be able to speak intelligently with parents.
The difference is if the virtual parents get tired of the digital child, they terminate it.
Is AI the Perfect Solution to Overpopulation?
While fear of overpopulation is widespread, it’s not a real concern. In July 2018, Vox reported that overpopulation in the United States isn’t even close to becoming a problem and said the supposed problem was also overstated internationally. Vox noted that US agriculture could support 400 million more people based purely on what the US exports alone without even considering increasing food production, expanding technology, etc.
So, what will the metaverse gain in society other than convenience?
To start with, it could lead humanity down the road to dwindling numbers. In fact, it’s already happening without the metaverse. People are having fewer babies than ever in the United States. The general fertility rate in 2016 was only 60 births per 1,000 women. That’s the lowest since the US started keeping birth rate records, and it continues to decline year over year.
So, is there satisfaction in a fake digital baby over a real one? Can the metaverse really replace what makes us human?
Future generations will decide one way or another.
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