AI baby monitor uses emotion tech to see if babies are ‘really crying’

Ah, babies, they eat, sleep, crap and cry, and that’s it! The first year-or-so of having a child can be rough, especially with all that crying. But perhaps an AI baby monitor can help you out?

What in the hell is an AI baby monitor?

Created by tech company Owlet, the Owlet Cam 2 is an AI baby monitor. Unlike normal baby monitors, the Cam 2 uses emotion-based artificial Intelligence to determine how sad your baby is.

Using machine learning, the Cam 2 will analyse every sound a baby makes. When a baby starts crying, the AI baby monitor will alert parents that their baby is indeed crying. Judging from how loud crying babies are, it shouldn’t be that hard to discern.

Furthermore, it’s not known if the AI baby monitor is using openly available emotion AI software. With companies like Microsoft deeming Emotion AI too dangerous due to dataset biases, many are unhappy with the spread of the technology. Nevertheless, it’s making its way into products anyways.

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It does other creepy things as well

Of course, a product needs a gimmick, but it also has to be more than that. As it turns out, the Owlet Cam 2 is more than just an AI baby monitor. As it turns out, it’s also a creepy techno-parent.

As your child sleeps, the Cam 2 will track the child, keeping sleep data across its whole life. The feature tracks your baby’s sleep pattern, noting when it wakes up, how long for, et cetera, and will use that information accordingly.

For example, after learning how and when your child wakes, the device can open windows or turn on lights. Furthermore, it will predict changes in sleep pattern as your child ages, making sure it’s always perfectly calibrated.

Techno-parenting is quickly becoming more prominent every day, both commercial and governmental in the case of China. With products like AI reading devices that replicate dead parents’ voices to facial recognition game-time management, it’s a destructive time.