Your kids are so fortunate to have YOU as a mom. You are so real, so relational, so grounded in the reality and the relationships of your kids. I am so glad to see you finally writing up your wisdom on a wider stage. You have so much to offer others who are struggling with their parenting, especially these days when I think parenting is so much more difficult. The world your kids are growing up in is so much more challenging to navigate than the one either you or I grew up in. Yeah Mari!
First, YES to joining you in being fully human! For better, worse and all things in between, whatever that means!
Anyway, very happy to see you press the publish button on this blog, I'll be excited to read it and watch it grow, and grow along with it.
Now, as to the article, I think you have elucidated on the gist of it, which is that AI can't feel the fullness of being human and, well, to raise small ones to be big ones, well, they need models who CAN feel that fullness.
Having said that, yes, of course, we can utilize AI as parents and hopefully we'll do this consciously and it will make us better at our "jobs" of raising our kids. After all, when I left the hospital back on May 3, 2005 when my now-18-year-old son Oliver was brought red-bodied and not-bushy-tailed into this world, no one handed me an instruction manual, and, Hell, even though if they had it would have been in Japanese because he was born in Japan, I would have gladly accepted it!
Anyway, last, I'll say I love the photo of you and your family! What a good-looking group of humans on an incredibly unique slice of our amazing planet.
I love this, Bryan - would have accepted a manual, even in a foreign language! So with you! Happy to be fully human with you, you've definitely inspired me.
Of course AI is no substitute for human parents. But I see a big space for A Personal AI in the future, no, right now. Imagine an AI lounge for you and your children as a supplement, not as a substitute. AI or human? BOTH / AND.
Yes, John! Ai-assisted, or supplemented, is definitely something I'm curious about- and I want to engage wirh it carefully. Thanks for sharing. I guess my emphasis on human was that I've got that going for me, haha, and I have not participated in creating any AI.
“Human assisted parenting “. Seems almost an afterthought to the tech obsessed media. A good phrase to push back with, to get in front of “inquiring minds”.
“Human assisted parenting”.... when was that not kinda how we always did it as species ?
Oh, we definitely did do that! I agree, it doesn't need to be named, or it gains some kind of value, once there's a shift or potential shift away from it.
Great read and so thought-provoking! I love your push back at AI being a 'better' parent, how often we - human parents - told there are 'better' parents, and ways to parent, and that we should 'be better' … over and over again. The AI argument is just different context for the same shaming behavior.
AI can't be a better parent because it's not a parent. Help and support - in any shape or form, I'm here for - but no, AI can't parent. I also agree with your thoughts on therapy... maybe if you know going in that it's an AI therapist might work for someone, but the brilliant way therapy works is the push and pull from an also-flawed human. I believe - in both of these instances - that it's the journey that makes us grow, not a pre-determined program designed for perfection.
Aw, beautiful, Bethany! And I have an article coming out soon on what "better" even means to me! Love that -- "the push and pull from an also-flawed human". <3
If I were a human child with an AI surrogate parent, I would totally kick off and try to push it to its limit, that is what emotionally healthy child does. ( which was predicted by Dr Winnicott! ) But maybe if a child was parented by AI, they may not be as well adjusted to test out their destructive side? Maybe they will have given up being truly met by a beating heart and sentient being. Now that is a scary thought...
Flipside as a human therapist I am pondering on opening my practice to AI clients!
Your kids are so fortunate to have YOU as a mom. You are so real, so relational, so grounded in the reality and the relationships of your kids. I am so glad to see you finally writing up your wisdom on a wider stage. You have so much to offer others who are struggling with their parenting, especially these days when I think parenting is so much more difficult. The world your kids are growing up in is so much more challenging to navigate than the one either you or I grew up in. Yeah Mari!
Oh, thank you, Leilani!! I treasure your wisdom and support.
Hi Mari!
First, YES to joining you in being fully human! For better, worse and all things in between, whatever that means!
Anyway, very happy to see you press the publish button on this blog, I'll be excited to read it and watch it grow, and grow along with it.
Now, as to the article, I think you have elucidated on the gist of it, which is that AI can't feel the fullness of being human and, well, to raise small ones to be big ones, well, they need models who CAN feel that fullness.
Having said that, yes, of course, we can utilize AI as parents and hopefully we'll do this consciously and it will make us better at our "jobs" of raising our kids. After all, when I left the hospital back on May 3, 2005 when my now-18-year-old son Oliver was brought red-bodied and not-bushy-tailed into this world, no one handed me an instruction manual, and, Hell, even though if they had it would have been in Japanese because he was born in Japan, I would have gladly accepted it!
Anyway, last, I'll say I love the photo of you and your family! What a good-looking group of humans on an incredibly unique slice of our amazing planet.
Keep writing!
I love this, Bryan - would have accepted a manual, even in a foreign language! So with you! Happy to be fully human with you, you've definitely inspired me.
Of course AI is no substitute for human parents. But I see a big space for A Personal AI in the future, no, right now. Imagine an AI lounge for you and your children as a supplement, not as a substitute. AI or human? BOTH / AND.
Yes, John! Ai-assisted, or supplemented, is definitely something I'm curious about- and I want to engage wirh it carefully. Thanks for sharing. I guess my emphasis on human was that I've got that going for me, haha, and I have not participated in creating any AI.
Woo hoo! I’m so excited you have this blog! May it be fodder for a book!
“Human assisted parenting “. Seems almost an afterthought to the tech obsessed media. A good phrase to push back with, to get in front of “inquiring minds”.
“Human assisted parenting”.... when was that not kinda how we always did it as species ?
Oh, we definitely did do that! I agree, it doesn't need to be named, or it gains some kind of value, once there's a shift or potential shift away from it.
Great read and so thought-provoking! I love your push back at AI being a 'better' parent, how often we - human parents - told there are 'better' parents, and ways to parent, and that we should 'be better' … over and over again. The AI argument is just different context for the same shaming behavior.
AI can't be a better parent because it's not a parent. Help and support - in any shape or form, I'm here for - but no, AI can't parent. I also agree with your thoughts on therapy... maybe if you know going in that it's an AI therapist might work for someone, but the brilliant way therapy works is the push and pull from an also-flawed human. I believe - in both of these instances - that it's the journey that makes us grow, not a pre-determined program designed for perfection.
Aw, beautiful, Bethany! And I have an article coming out soon on what "better" even means to me! Love that -- "the push and pull from an also-flawed human". <3
If I were a human child with an AI surrogate parent, I would totally kick off and try to push it to its limit, that is what emotionally healthy child does. ( which was predicted by Dr Winnicott! ) But maybe if a child was parented by AI, they may not be as well adjusted to test out their destructive side? Maybe they will have given up being truly met by a beating heart and sentient being. Now that is a scary thought...
Flipside as a human therapist I am pondering on opening my practice to AI clients!
AI clients!! 😆 Pushing limits is so important, and the sensing, responding parent would definitely react differently.