Robots vs. Babysitters: Is Artificial Intelligence the Hot New Choice for Child Care?

AI-powered baby monitors are not marketed as a babysitter replacement but rather a supplement for working parents. Device-assisted child care is an almost century-old concept. The world's first electronic baby monitor, the Bakelite Zenith Radio Nurse, went on sale in the late 1930s--a response, at least in part, to the moral panic following the kidnapping and subsequent murder of the Lindbergh baby. Thus, using artificial intelligence (AI) to assist or relieve parents entirely of the burdens of nurturing is not an abrupt or unanticipated innovation--many parents already monitor their children remotely using cameras connected to their smartphones, sometimes with unanticipated and extremely creepy results--and, given the cost and difficulty of securing reliable human babysitters, it may also be an easy sell. SEE ALSO: What Happens When'Generation Voice' Grows Up? Enter Turkey-based startup Invidyo and its AI-powered "smart baby and babysitter camera."