AI-Obsessed Dad Proposes Using an AI Voice Model to Read to his 3 Day Old Son Instead of Doing it Himself: 'Parenting hits different when you work in AI.'

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Oct 9, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

Why would he want to do that?

When AI first hit the scene, I was suspicious because I had seen my fair share of movies and TV shows about robots taking over the world. It seemed like everyone else was pretty gullible to be so enthralled by a technology that we've been warned against for so many years.

The movie Her warned us of a future where lonely men fell in love with AI voices instead of real human women. That was a pretty prescient prediction, as now there is no shortage of people falling in love with and forming relationships with AI chatbots. Their experiences are obviously so tragic. IMHO, the most important thing about being human is connecting with other humans. It doesn't matter if you make all the money in the world or do incredibly important work in your day-to-day life. If you don't have friends or family to share your days with, none of the other stuff is really worth the hassle.

Unfortunately, not everybody cares about human connection as much as they care about optimizing their lives around artificial intelligence. Couldn't be me!

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via @alvinsng
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via @anirudhology
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The biggest mistake some parents make is thinking they don't have to start really parenting their kids until they're older. If you wait until your kid is 10 to start spending time with him, you've already missed so much.
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Honestly, you could read anything to a 2-day-old, and it would still be great for bonding. You don't have to read The Rainbow Fish now if you don't have any interest in it. You can literally read the yellow pages, and it will expose the baby to vocabulary in their soon-to-be native language the sound of your voice.
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It's true that a lot of parenting, especially when your kids are young, isn't very stimulating or fun. Playing is a huge example of this. Kids' brains are wired to play. For kids, playing is like work: it keeps them from being idle! Adults, on the other hand, are wired to work. It's not necessarily enjoyable for an adult to play with a toddler for hours on end. It can be fulfilling because you're spending quality time with them, but it can get really boring really fast. Still, it's important because play is essential for kids' development. One study shows that 43% of kids who played regularly grew up to have their childhood dream jobs by age 23. I know that was the case for me! I played a ton as a child, dreamed of being a professional writer, and I was on by the age of 22!
4-year-olds want to play the same game over and over again, and they want you to read them the same book over and over again, and if you're a good parent, you will do it (within reason) because it's developmentally appropriate for them, and any amount of time spent together will build a stronger bond between you two. Maybe if you spend the time playing Pretty Pretty Princess with your daughter, she'll be more receptive to going to the ball park with you.
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