The debate surrounding the world's population and the collective plan of action to tackle overpopulation has its proponents and critics.
Some believe we're definitely headed towards an overpopulation crisis, while others think we'll be experiencing a catastrophic population decrease. Granted, this debate can be an entirely separate story in itself, but let's take a look at one side of the coin first.
With regard to overpopulation, AI expert and renowned behavioral psychologist Catriona Campbell believes that 'Tamagotchi children' could pose a very real future for parents 50 years from now, outlined in her recently published book – AI by Design: A Plan for Living with Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial kids are the future, apparently.
A survey involving a slew of Nobel Laureates cites population rise and its link to environmental degradation as the biggest threat to humankind. Let that sink in for a bit.
On one end of the spectrum, we should be happy that the population is rising. It's a reflection of constant and widespread improvements in public healthcare, nutrition, personal hygiene, and medicine. On the other end, it could have devastating effects on the environment. It's a real-life Catch-22 situation.
“Climate change [and providing] sufficient food and fresh water for the growing global population… are serious problems facing humankind,” says one Laureate. “Science is needed to address these problems and also to educate the public to create the political will to solve these problems.”
IMAGE: COSMOH LOVE / Unsplash
In finding a viable solution for this, Campbell thinks the only way to go is the metaverse. More specifically, coming in the form of virtual babies – which she believes could "solve some of today's most pressing issues, including overpopulation", but only if done correctly.
But let's not imagine these virtual kids as highly-pixelated figures you see through a cheap pair of VR goggles. According to Campbell, as technology advances in the next 50 years, the virtual babies (or "Tamagotchi children") which exist in the metaverse will be "indistinct from those in the real world".
However, raising these metaverse babies won't be free, but it'll definitely be a lot cheaper than raising real children. Kind of like a subscription, they'll be made "widely available for a relatively small monthly fee".
IMAGE: Minh Pham / Unsplash
While this prediction may come off as a little too dystopian for some people, there's no denying that technology is advancing a lot faster than we're aware of. Who knows? You might even be able to live your entire life on the metaverse, as you sit cocooned in your cryo-preservation capsule, or something.
If you're curious to learn more about Cambell's predictions, you can read all about them in AI by Design: A Plan for Living with Artificial Intelligence – available on Amazon Singapore, starting from S$43.09.
AI by Design: A Plan for Living with Artificial Intelligence
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