By Futurist Thomas Frey
The Uncomfortable Thought Experiment
Could a robot actually raise your child better than you can?
Not “help with childcare”—raise. The full spectrum of emotional support, behavioral guidance, education, and attachment that shapes a human being.
Your gut says “absolutely not.” But consider: A robot never gets tired. Never loses patience. Never scrolls through their phone while your toddler plays. Provides perfectly calibrated educational content customized to your child’s learning style. Monitors health continuously. Stays current on child development research.
And costs a fraction of a human nanny—$2,500 for hardware versus $30,000-$45,000 annually.
So: For mechanical childcare—feeding, safety, education, routine maintenance—could robots do it better? And if they handle the mechanical parts, what does that mean for the parts they can’t?
Continue reading… “The Question Nobody Wants to Ask: Will Robots Do a Better Job Raising Our Kids Than We Do?”