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I'd Love A Robot Nanny For My Children – As Long As It Didn't Love Them Back
The AvatarMind iPal robot can sing and dance and tell bedtime stories – but it's a far cry from proper childcare (Getty)
Rishi Sunak has got me thinking about robots. In his pre-election speech, the PM suggested that while artificial intelligence can be dangerous, it can also provide opportunity for progress – so much, he claimed, that its effects could be even more significant than the industrial revolution. But what would these effects look like in the home? Could these robots help with the housework? Or help me look after my children? Sunak suggested that AI is set to affect nearly 40 per cent of jobs – is being a nanny one of them?
I pondered how an AI robot nanny might be advertised. "Are you tired of the endless search for a reliable, trustworthy and engaging childminder? Look no further! The solution to all your childcare needs is... An AI robot nanny." To be honest, I didn't mind the idea. There's the unwavering reliability, no more last-minute cancellations, or unexpected days off. They could be available around the clock, wouldn't get tired or fed up with your kids, and could probably load the dishwasher and fold the laundry, too – leaving us parents more time to spend with our children. The only big drawback? They lack emotional connection.
Never mind, I think to myself, as I imagine the perks of a future with AI nannies. My children get love from me – I just need backup support. I'm a single mum with a six- and eight-year-old, and quite frankly, the idea of a robot nanny on tap is an absolute dream. I know, of course, that there are ethical concerns. As Nick Hawes, professor of AI and robotics in the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University, points out: "Who is responsible if you leave your child with a robot and something goes wrong?" I hadn't thought of that…
Hawes tells me that a robot nanny is "possible – but it's a long way off. Maybe five or 10 years." There is huge interest and a lot of money currently going into building humanoid robots, he adds. However, the autonomy and intelligence of these machines is still very limited. "There are demos of robots loading a dishwasher and maybe moving some items around on surfaces – and that is really state of the art," he tells me. "[But] it's going to be a very long way until technology can do emotional intelligence as well as a human."
Presumably, an AI robot would be a one-off purchase. Or do you rent them? What could a nanny robot look like, I wonder? "Beyond a humanoid shape," Hawes says, "who knows? Maybe it's got four legs, rather than two. Maybe it's got six legs. I don't know. As a parent, I also want 10 arms and more cameras."
Maybe I've been watching too much Black Mirror, but the idea of robots living among us doesn't feel like such a big leap of the imagination for me. I've seen the footage of Ai-Da (pronounced Ada), a realistic robot artist created and built in the UK, who makes art and poetry and "talked" to the House of Lords in 2022. She had a black bob, orange shirt and grey dungarees – even a dimple on her chin and a strangely ethereal voice.
The cybersecurity aspects are terrifying. If you get out of the shower and walk past a robot nanny with a towel on, is the robot recording that? Is that being streamed to the cloud?
Nick Hawes, professor of AI and robotics
For anything more complex, though, there's nothing on the market yet for parents. There are robots that can sing and dance and tell bedtime stories, and robots that can monitor your blood pressure and learn the floorplans of your home so they can move between rooms and hand things to you. But none of these creations is yet up to scratch for a job as a nanny, says Dr Emmanuel Senft, a research scientist at Switzerland's Idiap Research Institute and the head of its Human-centered Robotics and AI group.
"If we want a robot doing the simplest job of a nanny, for example, checking that a child is sleeping or notifying the parents if the child is crying, we are probably already there or very close, and actually a simple camera can be enough," says Senft. "But if we want a robot that can cook, load a dishwasher, provide children with core values and help them to develop themselves appropriately, then we are pretty far off, and might never reach it."
He admits he might be "surprised by progress" in the coming years, though. "It's often said that what can be easy for a human can be very hard for a machine, and what can be hard for a human can be very easy for a machine," he says. "For example, we only managed recently to [get a robot to] detect automatically a bird in a picture; it's called computer vision. But finding the solution to complex calculations is very easy for a robot."
The main challenge for creating a robot nanny, though, is that it is very hard to create one model with all the developed aspects available: mobility, perception, expression and manipulation. "There are very good robots in each of these categories, for example, Atlas from Boston Dynamics has very impressive mobility," he says about the robot that is able to run, jump and execute the perfect backflip. "Similarly, the Ameca robot from Engineered Arts is very expressive. It has a face able to generate expressions. However, these capabilities are still challenging on their own, and having a robot being good in all areas is even harder."
Boston Dynamics unveiled the new Atlas robot on 17 April 2024 (Boston Dynamics)
Getting a robot to look human is also tricky. "If the robot is even slightly off, it can feel icky for the humans around it," he says. "This effect [in robotics] is termed the 'uncanny valley'." Cost is still a major hurdle, too. "The more complex, the more tasks and the harder it is and more expensive."
But more importantly, he adds, do we really want a society with robot nannies taking care of our children's education and development? "Personally, I think that robots could help but they should not be planned to replace humans and that's my opinion on robots in general, they should be there to augment humans, not replace them," he says. "Children need social interactions for healthy development, I don't think we should rely fully on robots to provide them."
While Senft believes that parents should have the freedom to decide how they want their children to interact with AI, it must "support healthy development". Likewise, Hayes questions the benefits of a robot nanny – both in terms of security and on an emotional level. "You have to understand the technology that is in your home – it's equally true when you give your kids a phone and you let them install apps on it," he says. "The cybersecurity aspects are terrifying. If you get out of the shower and walk past a robot nanny with a towel on, is the robot recording that? Is that being streamed to the cloud?"
Researchers have been expressing concerns about robot nannies for years. In Noel and Amanda Sharkey's 2010 paper "The Crying Shame of Robot Nannies: An Ethical Appraisal", they raise questions about "human rights, privacy, robot use of restraint, deception of children and accountability". The most "pressing" ethical issue they look at is the impact on the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children – citing "cognitive and linguistic impairment" as well as attachment disorders.
Ai-Da, the world's first ultra-realistic humanoid robot artist, talking in the House of Lords in 2022 (Getty)
I'd definitely pull the plug on the nanny if my kids started to feel love for it, when clearly it couldn't be reciprocated. But these researchers have also found that "occasional use" of a machine may be no more harmful than watching TV or using an iPad for a few hours, especially if the child is securely attached to their primary carer.
While it seems my dream of an AI nanny will come true, it might, however, be too late. My children might have grown up and got over the intense nanny phase. But, as Hawes says: "It might not benefit us as parents, but these robots will be looking after us in our old age."
While it seems the idea of an AI nanny will one day become reality, it might be too late for my own needs. My children will likely have grown up and got over the intense nanny phase by then. When I'm a grandmother, though, things could get interesting. Will my grandchildren need me beyond an occasional cuddle because the robot's taken care of everything else? Will I worry – as all grandmas do – that my precious little ones are in danger from a robot gone rogue? All questions for another day. But for now, I'd do just about anything to have an AI nanny at my disposal. As long as my kids understand that it's not the genuine article, and incomparable to humanity – it's just metal and wires and a helping hand.
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Deathsprint 66 Looks Like The Best Kind Of Racing Game: One Where You Race Murderous Robot Men Instead Of Boring Old Cars
There's a part of me that always craves a good racing game, but I just can't be bothered with cars. I want hoverboards, podracing, F-Zero stuff man, I get my car fix being stuck in traffic in my 2018 Kia Soul. Deathsprint 66 looks like the perfect scratch for my particular anti-automobile racing itch: this is a game where we'll race Master Chiefs.
Sumo Newcastle's upcoming racer looks like Mario Kart by way of Ghostrunner in its debut gameplay trailer from the PC Gaming Show: we've got the grungy, neon-lit cyberpunk city, form fitting robo guy armor with chunky armor bits, and one of my favorite environment features in any game, those little bits of Titanfall raised wall panels that practically scream "Wallrun on me, jerkoff!"
But instead of FPS levels or combat puzzle time trialing, Deathsprint 66 puts you in a demolition derby, racing against a gaggle of seven other cyborgs in PvE or PvP. As PCG executive editor Tyler Wilde observed after getting a look at the game at this year's Game Developers Conference, Deathsprint is like if Nintendo stopped pretending Mario Kart was anything other than a blood sport.
The obstacle course nature of Deathsprint 66's tracks are what has me the most excited: in addition to the aforementioned wallrun ramps, the trailer shows off laser traps, ziplines, and perhaps the least OSHA-compliant open spinning spike traps I've seen in a game since Super Meat Boy. And things get bloody when you mess up: the trailer ends with a tasteful shot of one of our Spartan II program-looking guys running past a severed arm before getting turned into pink mist himself.
I'm curious to see what kinds of offensive options we'll get as players—inquiring minds want to know what the Deathsprint 66 blue shell looks like. While Deathsprint 66 does not have a release date, it's currently set to release before the end of the year. Until that time, you can wishlist the game on Steam.
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(Image credit: Sumo Newcastle) (Image credit: Sumo Newcastle) (Image credit: Sumo Newcastle)A New Animated Film Follows A Lonely Dog And His Robot Friend In New York City
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEPTEMBER")
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Sometimes friends have a special song that means something to them and only them. For a dog and robot in the animated film "Robot Dreams," it's an Earth, Wind & Fire song - "September."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEPTEMBER")
EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: (Singing) Do you remember the 21st night of September?
RASCOE: The song first appears as the robot and dog are walking through Central Park in New York City, dancing together while on roller skates. They become a star attraction and a huge crowd gathers around them. The film is based on a graphic novel of the same name by Sarah Varon. It follows a story of a lonely dog who buys a build-it-yourself robot to keep him company. The film, "Robot Dreams," premiered at Cannes Film Festival last year and has just come out in theaters this weekend. Its director, Pablo Berger, joins us now. Welcome to the program.
PABLO BERGER: Hi, Ayesha. My pleasure to be talking with you about my baby, "Robot Dreams."
RASCOE: Oh, yes. It's a beautiful movie. Now, the graphic novel didn't come with a soundtrack. So why did you choose...
BERGER: (Laughter).
RASCOE: ...That Earth, Wind & Fire song to define the friendship of the dog and the robot?
BERGER: Yes. When I wrote the script, I wanted them to have roller dancing in Central Park, and I needed a funky, disco, upbeat song from the, you know, late '70s, early '80s, and straight to my head came "September." And it was very obvious because the story starts in September, and the film ends in September of the following year. So we realized, what if it becomes the theme?
RASCOE: And how did you discover the book "Robot Dreams"? And why did you decide to make a movie about it?
BERGER: I found it because I collect wordless graphic novels and children's books. And immediately, I fell in love with the book. But I just put it on the shelf of my graphic novels because up to now, I've been making live-action films. And in 2018, I took it out of the shelf. And this time, when I read it, when I got to the end of the book, I was so deeply moved. I was in tears.
In those eight years from the first time I read the book to the - 2018, my best friend stopped being my best friend, I lost my mother. I thought about relations that I had in the past, and I said, wow, if the book has made this impact on me, if I make a film out of it, I'm really sure that the audience is going to make their own substitutions and think about their loved ones that - they're not with them anymore.
RASCOE: So you collect graphic novels and children's books without dialogue. And I know you did a silent film before, a tribute to the silent movie era. And then this one, "Robot Dreams," doesn't have dialogue, either. Do you have something against dialogue, or is there...
BERGER: (Laughter).
RASCOE: ...Something that you're getting out of not having the dialogue?
BERGER: That's right. The base all of storytelling (ph) - that's what pure cinema - it is for me. And in a way, I feel like a cinematic terrorist, you know? I like to tell other filmmakers, dialogue can be OK, but we cannot forget, what makes cinema a unique way of telling a story is by using images. And that's what I enjoy the most - to tell stories without even one word of dialogue, and that's the case of "Robot Dream," as well.
RASCOE: You know, usually with film interviews for our show, we play a clip or two of dialogue. But since this is a dialogue-free film, can we watch a scene together and you help narrate it for our listeners? Like - 'cause we're going to pick one near the beginning. It's a scene in Central Park, and the dog and Robot watch a group of schoolkids - I mean, well, young animals in the movie, walking down a path, holding hands. Like, what happens next?
BERGER: We see Dog and Robot walking in Central Park. Dog is, like, looking at everything - at the trees, at the birds. And suddenly, he sees a group of schoolkids with their teachers there, and he sees that two - a little fox and a bear - they're holding hands. And at that moment, he looks at Dog and looks at his hand and then grabs the hand...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ROBOT DREAMS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As Dog) Ah.
BERGER: ...And Dog screams because Robot is very - pushing his hand very hard, and Dog - it hurts, hurts. But Dog knows that Robot didn't mean to hurt him. And he says, Okay, if Robert wants to hold a hand, I'm going to hold a hand, and then they leave the screen like it's a Charlie Chaplin movie, and they're walking away. It's one of my favorite little scenes in the film.
RASCOE: Well, you know, now that you describe it that way, I feel like it gets to a deeper meaning in the movie, which seems to be about intent -like, how someone can hurt you, but it's not intentional.
BERGER: Well, I like your interpretation. And I think life is like that, you know? I think sometimes, people hurt us, and they really didn't know, or they didn't mean it. And I think forgiveness is one of these great human qualities. And selective memory - how we remember the good things and we forget the bad things. I think it's very important to look forward.
RASCOE: Yes.
BERGER: And caress the memories that - people that touch us in our lives. This film really makd me think a lot about relations and people that I met in the past that - they're not with me anymore.
RASCOE: Who do you think was lonelier, the robot or the dog in this movie?
BERGER: Well, I think how the film starts is, once upon a time in New York City, there was a lonely dog in the - in a railroad apartment in the East Village playing alone - a video game. How sad could it be that? And then he just heats up a TV dinner in the microwave, and then he channel surfs, and then he sees some neighbors, a couple, having fun.
You know, I was a lonely dog in New York. I lived in New York for a long time. So I think many people can relate. We had moments in our life that we felt a little bit miserable because we didn't have anybody to share. And Robot, I think he - the Robot personality is just, like, of course, he can be sometimes lonely, but there's something about Robot that - he's such a positive thinking character. And also one of the amazing things about Robot is that he uses dreams to overcome his loneliness. To dream - it really helps to feel not lonely in his case.
RASCOE: This is a film about two best friends, but there is also a deep message about loss and moving on and longing and letting go. And as an adult, I have a hard time with that letting go stuff. I'm like, no, I - I'm not giving nothing away, but at the end of the film, I was like, no.
(LAUGHTER)
RASCOE: You don't move on (laughter).
BERGER: Yeah, no, I love how you reacted to the film, you know? No.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
BERGER: Yes. That's the way - that's the kind of - I made it for you, Ayesha, because that's the kind of audience that I like, like, active audience.
RASCOE: Do you think this is for kids or adults? Is - or is that even a question that you thought about?
BERGER: You know, there's a prejudice still about animation, you know? They think that many, you know, of the audience - even the film critics, they think that it's for kids. And of course, there are animation for kids, but there's animation for adults. This film - as a director, I want the widest possible audience. Film is like a lasagna. It has layers. And I think depend of - you know, the age, your experience - you know, you get your own layer, and I think that's interesting about cinema. It's just like, the audience complete the film.
RASCOE: That's Pablo Berger, director of the animated feature "Robot Dreams," out in theaters now. Thank you so much for joining us.
BERGER: Thank you, Ayesha. It was a pleasure to talk with you about "Robot Dreams."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SEPTEMBER")
EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: (Singing) Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember? Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.
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