Postcolonial Speculative Fiction

Will Robot Nannies Eventually Take Over?

With the rise of artificial intelligence there comes many questions and concerns. Often these concerns are rooted in the thought that technology may one day surpass humans in intelligence, stripping us of our title as the superior species. In Sofia Samatar’s Monster Portraits, the story “The Nanny” addresses the concept of artificial intelligence by detailing a story in which a robot nanny murders an entire family. This results in all the robot nannies being recalled. Under normal circumstances, it seems as though the primary concern would be that the robots have turned murderous. However, the result of the recall turns out to be much more chaotic and confusing.

What happens when nannies are on recall?

Chaos. In this world, parents have become so dependent upon their robot nannies that they have literally forgotten how to take care of their own children. The parents in this world can’t put their children to bed without the robot nanny because “Nanny alone knew what to do.” At first, this may seem farfetched, but when looking at the trend of humans becoming dependent on new technologies, it isn’t completely implausible. Most people today can’t function without their cellphone in their hand. It is reasonable to assume that if robot nannies were released and did most of the childcare for a length of time, people would become dependent upon them as well. This dependency lays a foundation that almost makes an absent nanny worse than a murderous nanny. Furthermore, the fears of artificial intelligence being smarter than humans is brought to life by Del Samatar's illustration of these robot nannies. When they are recalled, one nanny decides to alter herself to prevent being shut down or disposed of. She gives herself new teeth and weapons for hands, as depicted in the illustration. The concept of being dependent upon AI is terrifying enough without considered the fact that they may become sentient beings that alter themselves into weapons. 

Are robot nannies really going to take over?

Probably not. At least, not in the foreseeable future. However, this story does provide important commentary on the current dependency upon technology. Technology can be beneficial in many ways, but at a certain point it becomes problematic. People are already becoming so dependent on technology like cellphones and computers that many students don’t know how to find information without searching it on the internet. Granted, it is much more convenient than flipping through a book to find the answer, but it also sets those students up for failure when they don’t have access to the internet. However, we are taking the internet and these technologies for granted, much like how the families in the story took the nannies for granted. They did not anticipate ever being without the nannies, and we do not anticipate being without the internet or our phones. But if we continue growing more and more dependent and for some unforeseen reason lose access to our technology, chaos will likely ensue.
 

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  1. I definitely don't see artificial intelligence being the complete caretakers of children anytime soon, but I think in a lot of ways we already rely on technology to "babysit" kids. Game consoles, smart phones, and tablets all have programs that cater to kids as young as 2-3 years old. There's no denying that in many cases, these replace valuable time parents could have with their kids; I realize that there are times where it can be helpful, but as a waitress I witnessed many kids pitch a fit when their parents asked them to put the smartphone away. I don't think we'll see AI completely fill a parent's role in our lifetime, but who knows? I know people said the same thing about computers, the internet, and cell phones.
  2. When it comes to artificial intelligence nannies, I'm not sure that parents will allow these beings to take over. There is a part of humanity that has an innate need to take care of their children, and parents don't want to fully give up control. With technology, parents are only giving up a semblance of control because they know that smartphones and tablets cannot create a human connection like parents. Even in the story, the parents in a way show that they do care for their children by recalling all the nannies after one went rogue.

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