The nightmare is near: virtual children will become full members of the family in half a century

Digital babies who can hum, play and look like their "parents" will be commonplace in 50 years, says Catriona Campbell, one of the UK's leading experts in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies . True, they can exist only in the immersive digital space. But that won't be a problem: getting in there and interacting with the digital baby is as simple as using a headset that provides access to virtual reality. Campbell writes about this in his new book AI by Design: A Plan For Living With Artificial Intelligence, according to the Daily Mail.

Campbell refers to the digital kids as the "Tamagotchi generation," referring to the digital creatures that were popular in the late 1990s. “Virtual children may seem incredible now, but in 50 years technology will have advanced so much that children existing in the digital universe will be indistinguishable from children in the real world,” she writes. “Over time, virtual children will become full members of society in developed countries”.

Tamagotchi children will be able to have a realistic appearance, this will be achieved by CGI technology, which creates images using three-dimensional computer graphics. They will be taught to recognize their parents and respond to their presence - technologies that allow voice analysis and face tracking will be responsible for this. High-tech gloves will help to simulate physical sensations and provide a completely realistic tactile connection. Thanks to them, digital babies can be hugged and played with no worse than flesh-and-blood children, and for their parents, Tamagotchi children will be just as real.

“Consumer demand is sure to arise, so this scenario is quite likely. Children with artificial intelligence will become widely available and will be provided for a relatively small monthly fee, Campbell continues. "This will help us address some of today's most pressing problems, including overpopulation".

The digital environment will allow "parents" to communicate with their children in any environment: at home, on the street, etc. How fast children will grow - if they grow at all - is also up to the "parents" to decide.