HUMANS could soon be raising virtual children in the metaverse, according to an artificial intelligence expert.
Catriona Campbell states in her new book AI by Design: A Plan For Living With Artificial Intelligence that this kind of family could prove popular for several reasons.
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Campbell refers to virtual babies as “Tamagotchi children” as looking after one would be similar to caring for the popular virtual pets.
She claims that virtual children in the metaverse could help to avoid an overpopulation crisis.
Humans could still fulfill their instincts to raise a family but do so in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the environment because their family wouldn’t actually exist.
Virtual children could be cost-effective and much cleaner than the ones we know in real life.
Campbell told the Telegraph that having virtual babies could “solve some of today’s most pressing issues, including overpopulation.”
The AI expert thinks “Tamagotchi children” will be a reality within the next 50 years.
She expects we’ll all be spending a lot of our everyday lives in the metaverse by then.
Campbell isn’t the only one who thinks we’re heading for a virtual future.
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously told tech podcaster Lex Fridman: “A lot of people think that the metaverse is about a place, but one definition of this is it’s about a time when basically immersive digital worlds become the primary way that we live our lives and spend our time.”
He added: “I think that’s a reasonable construct.”
In Zuckerberg’s metaverse, humans are represented by legless avatars.
There’s been no word on whether his metaverse world will allow for Campbell’s idea of virtual children and families.
Although Campbell thinks it will be cheaper and a more environmentally friendly way to have children, she doesn’t think it will be free.
Living in the metaverse will still cost humans and we’ll have to buy goods to exist there just like in real life.
Experts also dispute whether we’ll be able to form emotional connections in the same way we do in real life.
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