Latest news with #IAmMother
Sydney Morning Herald
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Put down the AI toy: kids need you, not a robot
There comes a time in every parent's life when you realise you need the mental grit of a hostage negotiator to withstand the rapid-fire questions from your small child. My six-year-old daughter is in her 'spelling' era. 'Mum, how do you spell 'elephant'? How do you spell 'vacuum'? How do you spell 'kitchen'?' I feel like I'm in a demented game show dreamt up in the literary circle of Hell. But the other day, while testing out Google Gemini 's live function, which is a generative AI capable of speaking in the polite, clipped British tones of Emma Thompson, an idea was born. 'Ask my phone how to spell elephant,' I told my daughter. She did, and Emma Thompson 2.0 (known henceforth as E.T. 2.0) politely acquiesced, spelling out the word and asking if my daughter would like to know anything else about elephants. This became a half-hour conversation full of animal facts and names spelt out: 'Rhinoceros: R H I N O C E R O S,' E.T. 2.0 said without a single trace of irritation in her automated voice. I suddenly realised that E.T. 2.0 is a better mother than I am. But then another thought sparked, like a glitch: should I be letting my kids near generative AI? There are plenty of robot mother stories populating science fiction lately. Last year's The Wild Robot made us fall in love with a robot that methodically teaches a baby duck to fly. In I Am Mother, from 2019, the robot mother in question is a little more sinister, more interested in genetic engineering than in baby ducks. We already have screen 'babysitters' for kids, such as Cocomelon, that rainbow-coloured lobotomy, but we need to brace ourselves for generative AI babysitters. Mattel has recently partnered with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which should raise concerns about our parenting future. There are already a range of toys out there that use generative AI to 'talk' to kids, like singer Grimes' brainchild 'Grok', a chatty soft toy designed to lure kids away from screen time and back into the real world. Mattel released a 'talking' Barbie in 2015 ('think Siri, not ChatGPT' according to Vox), but privacy concerns made Mattel discontinue her in 2017. And yet, with this recent partnership with OpenAI, they're still trying. Talking toys are creepy AF. Most parents have a horror story of their malfunctioning Bluey toy calling out 'Whackadoo!' in the dead of night under the bed, let alone throwing a chatty toy-bot in the mix. We can thank the films M3GAN and the recent sequel M3GAN 2.0, about a psychotic robot doll, for seeding our latest nightmares. 'Many parents want their children to understand emerging technologies. This leads to a mixed response of curiosity and concern,' Andrew McStay wrote in The Conversation. We know by now how tech companies feel about our personal information: playing around with it like a kid with a toy; and yet, despite our security concerns, we still willingly submit. No one wants to be left behind. But after seeing my daughter chatting away with E.T. 2.0, my greater concern is that we're losing the ability to give our kids undivided attention. It's hard enough to resist screens with the pace of modern life, let alone being offered an even easier way out: a chatty robot who never tires of questions. And what about when we need to explain to our kids that their robo-toy doesn't really care about them? It'll be like telling them that Santa is the dude who runs the kebab shop with a fake beard all over again.
The Age
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Put down the AI toy: kids need you, not a robot
There comes a time in every parent's life when you realise you need the mental grit of a hostage negotiator to withstand the rapid-fire questions from your small child. My six-year-old daughter is in her 'spelling' era. 'Mum, how do you spell 'elephant'? How do you spell 'vacuum'? How do you spell 'kitchen'?' I feel like I'm in a demented game show dreamt up in the literary circle of Hell. But the other day, while testing out Google Gemini 's live function, which is a generative AI capable of speaking in the polite, clipped British tones of Emma Thompson, an idea was born. 'Ask my phone how to spell elephant,' I told my daughter. She did, and Emma Thompson 2.0 (known henceforth as E.T. 2.0) politely acquiesced, spelling out the word and asking if my daughter would like to know anything else about elephants. This became a half-hour conversation full of animal facts and names spelt out: 'Rhinoceros: R H I N O C E R O S,' E.T. 2.0 said without a single trace of irritation in her automated voice. I suddenly realised that E.T. 2.0 is a better mother than I am. But then another thought sparked, like a glitch: should I be letting my kids near generative AI? There are plenty of robot mother stories populating science fiction lately. Last year's The Wild Robot made us fall in love with a robot that methodically teaches a baby duck to fly. In I Am Mother, from 2019, the robot mother in question is a little more sinister, more interested in genetic engineering than in baby ducks. We already have screen 'babysitters' for kids, such as Cocomelon, that rainbow-coloured lobotomy, but we need to brace ourselves for generative AI babysitters. Mattel has recently partnered with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, which should raise concerns about our parenting future. There are already a range of toys out there that use generative AI to 'talk' to kids, like singer Grimes' brainchild 'Grok', a chatty soft toy designed to lure kids away from screen time and back into the real world. Mattel released a 'talking' Barbie in 2015 ('think Siri, not ChatGPT' according to Vox), but privacy concerns made Mattel discontinue her in 2017. And yet, with this recent partnership with OpenAI, they're still trying. Talking toys are creepy AF. Most parents have a horror story of their malfunctioning Bluey toy calling out 'Whackadoo!' in the dead of night under the bed, let alone throwing a chatty toy-bot in the mix. We can thank the films M3GAN and the recent sequel M3GAN 2.0, about a psychotic robot doll, for seeding our latest nightmares. 'Many parents want their children to understand emerging technologies. This leads to a mixed response of curiosity and concern,' Andrew McStay wrote in The Conversation. We know by now how tech companies feel about our personal information: playing around with it like a kid with a toy; and yet, despite our security concerns, we still willingly submit. No one wants to be left behind. But after seeing my daughter chatting away with E.T. 2.0, my greater concern is that we're losing the ability to give our kids undivided attention. It's hard enough to resist screens with the pace of modern life, let alone being offered an even easier way out: a chatty robot who never tires of questions. And what about when we need to explain to our kids that their robo-toy doesn't really care about them? It'll be like telling them that Santa is the dude who runs the kebab shop with a fake beard all over again.
New Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Godzilla X Kong sequel titled Supernova, filming begins
The film stars an ensemble cast which includes Kaitlyn Dever, Sam Neill, Jack O'Connell, Matthew Modine, Alycia Debnam-Carey and Delroy Lindo, with Dan Stevens reprising his role as Trapper Beasly from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. In Godzilla X Kong: Supernova, Titans Godzilla and Kong will be facing off against a threat which is world-ending, with the humans beside them. The script for the film has been written by David Callaham and Michael Lloyd Green. Grant Sputore is known for the 2009 film I Am Mother. David Callaham has written the script for the film. He has also written for films like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
The Hindu
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Godzilla x Kong' sequel titled ‘Supernova', production begins
The titans are back—Godzilla x Kong is officially getting a sequel, and it now has a name: Godzilla x Kong: Supernova. Warner Bros. and Legendary confirmed the title Friday and released a teaser to mark the beginning of production. The sixth film in the MonsterVerse franchise is scheduled to hit theaters on March 26, 2027. Supernova will be directed by Grant Sputore, known for the sci-fi thriller I Am Mother, and is based on a screenplay by David Callaham and Michael Lloyd Green. Plot details remain tightly guarded, but the film is expected to feature a new wave of human characters as Godzilla and Kong team up — or face off — against a cataclysmic threat with world-ending consequences. Returning to the cast is Dan Stevens, reprising his role as Trapper, the eccentric monster dentist introduced in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. He'll be joined by Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O'Connell, Matthew Modine, Delroy Lindo, Alycia Debnam-Carey, and Sam Neill. Mary Parent and Thomas Tull return as producers. The previous film, The New Empire, directed by Adam Wingard, earned over $570 million worldwide. The franchise began with 2014's Godzilla and has since grown into a multi-film saga filled with evolving lore. In addition to the films, the MonsterVerse also extends to the small screen with Apple TV+'s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which has been renewed for a second season. The show stars Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, and both Wyatt and Kurt Russell as different versions of the same character, Lee Shaw.
NDTV
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Godzilla X Kong Sequel Gets A Title. Bonus
Los Angeles: The release date and title of the 'Godzilla X Kong' sequel have been unveiled. Directed by Grant Sputore (I Am Mother), Godzilla x Kong: Supernova will be released on March 26, 2026. It is currently in production, the studio revealed, as per Deadline. Said to place several new human characters alongside Titans Godzilla and Kong, as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat, pic's cast includes Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O'Connell, Delroy Lindo, Matthew Modine, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Sam Neill, and Dan Stevens, who reprises his role as veterinarian Trapper Beasley from last year's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the highest-grossing installment in the franchise. The script is by Shang-Chi's Dave Callaham. Launched with Godzilla in 2014, Legendary's Monsterverse franchise also includes Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, as well as Netflix's animated spin-off Skull Island and the Apple TV series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
