Teens in the UK are being sent home for two nights with robot dolls programmed to simulate drug addiction and fetal alcohol syndrome in order to teach them TO STAY OFF DRUGS--at least while they're pregnant.
The robots are preemie-sized, just like a real crack baby. And they cry and scream, and you can't make them stop. Just. like. a... hey, is there a camera somewhere? Alright, where is it? I KNEW there was something odd about this perpetually whiny creature crawling around my house the last two days...Come on, you replaced my daughter with a crack baby robot, didn't you?
Hello, anybody there? I figured it out, come on... experiment's over, bring her back... hey, guys...
Teens 'shocked' by alcohol dolls [bbc, via money-not-art]
There are actually quite a few companies that do this here in the states, as well. They have crack babies, fetal alcohol syndrome babies as well as regular babies that need to be fed, changed, burped, rocked, etc. (The crack baby cry is an actual recording of a baby going through withdrawal which is positively heartbreaking.) You can't turn them off, and you have to wear an electronic wrist band that is programmed for that baby - - so no handing him/her off to someone else to babysit. They are supposed to teach responsibility and show teens screwing around how much a work a baby is. I was just at an Education trade show and missed my own baby so much that I hung out at another booth shooshing the electronic ones. I know. Sad.
Where can you purchase one of these AI babies?