The metaverse could give us children in the future

For the past few months there has been a word that has often come to the fore when talking about new technologies: it is metaverse. This virtual, fully connected universe seems to be the future of the Internet for many people who are investing huge sums in this project.

If the idea of ​​creating a virtual universe accessible to all is not new, the recent change of name of the Facebook group to “Meta” has given an unprecedented spotlight to this world, still nestled on it. -same. Since then, the metaverse is everywhere. Recently, the French group Carrefour demonstrated its involvement in the latter, by conducting job interviews in the metaverse.

Metavers: tomorrow’s place-to-be?

If the practice seems to want to grow, many experts today wonder how far we are ready to go in the metaverse. While the first “crimes” in the history of this digital world have just taken place, the world is questioning the ethics of these actions. The question now is to decide whether this is reprehensible or not.

But according to Catriona Campbell, a behavioral psychologist specializing in the question of artificial intelligence, the next big step will be the birth, virtual, of children in the metaverse. In an interview given to Guardian a few weeks ago, she explained that in about fifty years from now, once the metaverse phenomenon is completely accepted by society, people will start having virtual children.

Describing them as “tamagotchi kid” – in reference to the virtual animals which had caused a stir in the 2000s – the researcher assures that the parallel is much more logical than it seems. Indeed, parents could feed, cuddle and educate these virtual children. Programmable at will, parents can control how fast children grow or even “block” them at a certain age.

Virtual children: advantages in the middle of all this?

One thing is certain, if such a practice becomes more democratic in the coming century, it risks raising many ethical and sociological questions. The relationship we have with fatherhood could then evolve enormously. But on the other hand, this solution also has advantages.

Indeed, the birth of virtual children could be a solution for couples or single people who do not want to have children today for ecological or economic reasons. In France, the number of these people is estimated at around 5% of the population.