RIshi Sunak got me thinking about robots. In his pre-election speech, the Prime Minister suggested that while artificial intelligence could be dangerous, it could also offer opportunities for progress. He argued that its effects could be even more significant than the Industrial Revolution. But what does this effect look like at home? Could this robot help with household chores? Or can you help me take care of my children? Sunak suggested AI will impact almost 40% of jobs. Is that one of them being a nanny?
I was wondering how to advertise an artificial intelligence robot nanny. “Are you tired of constantly looking for a trustworthy, dependable and attractive caregiver? Look no further! The solution to all your childcare needs is an AI robot nanny.” To be honest, I didn't care for the idea. You have unwavering reliability and no more last-minute cancellations or unexpected vacations. They are available 24 hours a day, you won't get tired or bored with the kids, and they will be able to load the dishwasher and fold the laundry. Then we parents can spend more time with our children. The only big drawback? Lack of emotional connection.
Never mind. I think to myself, imagining the benefits of a future with an AI nanny. My children are loved by me. I just need backup support. I am a single mother raising children aged 6 and 8. Let's be honest, the idea of having a robot nanny by your side is an absolute dream. Of course, I know there are ethical issues. Nick Hawes, Professor of AI and Robotics in the Department of Engineering at Oxford University, points out: “If something goes wrong when you leave your child with a robot, who will be responsible?” I didn't think of that…
Hawes said robot sitters are “possible, but we still have a long way to go.” “It will probably take five or 10 years.” He added that there is currently a huge amount of interest and money being spent on creating humanoid robots. However, the autonomy and intelligence of these machines are still very limited. “We have a demonstration of a robot loading dishes in the dishwasher and moving some items, which is really cutting-edge technology,” he said. “[But] “It will be a very long way before technology can do emotional intelligence as well as humans.”
Perhaps AI robots will be a one-time purchase. Or are you renting? What would a nanny robot look like? “It goes beyond the humanoid form,” Hawes says. “Who knows? Maybe it has four legs instead of two. Maybe it has six legs. I don’t know. As a parent, I too want 10 more arms and a camera.”
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 imagination to me. I've seen a video by Ai-Da (pronounced Ada), a realistic robot artist created and produced in the UK. She creates art and poetry and “speaks” to the Senate in 2022. She had short black hair, orange. Shirt and gray pants – even the dimple on his chin and his strange, ethereal voice.
The cybersecurity aspect is terrible. If I come out of the shower and pass by a robot nanny wearing a towel, will the robot record it? Is it streaming to the cloud?
Nick Hawes, Professor of AI and Robotics
But for the more complex ones, there are no products on the market yet for parents. There are robots that can sing, dance, and tell you bedtime stories, as well as robots that can monitor your blood pressure and learn your home's floor plan to move between rooms and hand you items. But none of these creations are yet at a level where they can work as nannies, says Dr. Emmanuel Senft, a research scientist at the Idiap Institute in Switzerland and head of the Human-Centric Robotics and AI group.
“For example, if you want a robot to perform the simplest nanny role, such as checking if a child is sleeping or notifying parents if the child cries, we will already be there or very close to it, and in fact, a simple camera may be enough. “But if we want robots that can cook, load the dishwasher, provide core values to children and help them grow appropriately, we are quite far away and may never get there.”
But he admitted that he would be “surprised by the progress” in the coming years. “We often hear that things that are easy for humans can be very difficult for machines, and things that are difficult for humans can be very easy for machines,” he says. “For example, we only recently [get a robot to] Automatically detects birds in photos. It's called computer vision. “But it’s very easy for robots to find solutions to complex calculations.”
However, the biggest challenge in creating a robot nanny is that it is very difficult to create one model with all the available advanced aspects such as mobility, perception, expression and manipulation. “There are very good robots in each of these categories. Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, for example, has very impressive mobility,” he says of robots that can run, jump and execute perfect somersaults. “Similarly, the Ameca robot from Engineered Arts is very expressive. It has a face that can produce facial expressions. However, these capabilities themselves remain challenging, and it is even more difficult for robots to excel in all areas.”
![Boston Dynamics unveiled its new Atlas robot on April 17, 2024.](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/04/17/16/boston%20dynamics%20robot%20atlas%20new.png)
Making robots look human is also tricky. “If the robot deviates even slightly, the humans around it may feel uncomfortable,” he says. “This effect is [in robotics] It’s called the ‘uncanny valley.’” Cost is also still a big obstacle: “The more complex it is, the more work it is, the more difficult it is, and the more expensive it is.”
But more importantly, he adds, do we really want a society with robot nannies looking after children's education and development? “Personally, I think robots can help, but they should not be designed to replace humans. My general opinion about robots is that they should exist to augment humans, not replace them.” he says. “Children need social interaction for healthy development. I don’t think we should rely solely on robots to provide this.”
Senft believes parents should have the freedom to decide how their children interact with AI, “supporting healthy development.” Likewise, Hayes questions the benefits of robot sitters, both from a security and emotional perspective. “You have to understand the technology you have at home. The same goes for giving your child a phone and letting them install apps,” he says. “The cybersecurity aspect is terrible. If I come out of the shower and pass by a robot nanny wearing a towel, will the robot record it? Is it streaming to the cloud?”
Researchers have been raising concerns about robot sitters for years. In their 2010 paper, “The Crying Shame of Robot Nanny: An Ethical Assessment,” Noel and Amanda Sharkey raise questions about “human rights, privacy, robots’ use of restraint, childhood deception, and accountability.” The most “urgent” ethical issue they see is the impact on children's psychological and emotional well-being, citing “cognitive and language impairment” and attachment difficulties.
![Ai-Da, the world's first hyper-realistic humanoid robot artist, to speak at the British House of Lords in 2022](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/09/22/13/GettyImages-1432540662.jpg)
Once my kids start to feel the love for it and obviously can't reciprocate, I'll pull the plug on the nanny. But these researchers also found that “occasional use” of machines was no more harmful than watching TV or using an iPad for a few hours. This is especially true if the child is safely attached to the primary caregiver.
It looks like my dream of an AI nanny will come true, but it may be too late. My kids may have grown up and moved past the intense nannying phase. But as Hawes said, “It may not be of help to us as parents, but these robots will take care of us in our old age.”
It seems like the idea of an AI nanny will become a reality one day, but it may be too late for my own needs. By then, my children will have grown up and gotten over the intense nanny phase. But when I become a grandmother, things can get interesting. Will my grandchildren need me for more than an occasional cuddle since the robots take care of everything else? Like all grandmothers, would I worry that my precious children might be in danger from a rogue robot? All questions for another day. But for now, we'll do anything to have an AI nanny at our disposal. As long as my children understand that it is not real and cannot be compared to humanity, it is just metal and wires and a helping hand.