In this New Scientist article a program in Japan testing a little kids monitoring device hooks up kids so that their parents can see what their children are seeing.
“The technology builds on existing devices that can track the location of a child, but this gadget also monitors what the child is seeing, and even their pulse. If a child’s heart rate is faster than usual, it snaps a photo of their point-of-view and alerts parents via email.”
The article mentions the obvious criticisms then:
“Lee brushes off such criticism. ‘I’m a mother and I’d say that if it’s a parent’s choice between a child’s privacy and keeping them safe, most would choose the latter,” she says. The strap has been carefully designed to be comfortable,’ she adds.”
I think if they really want to keep their kids safe, they need a “child shutdown option” which interrupts the child’s neural system, freezing them until help can be summoned.
But wait, then what if the parent is in a meeting and doesn’t get the email?
Well, then there should be special monitors also in the stream that can make the call. Assuming we don’t want to turn our children over to artificial intelligence or heuristic child-shutdown switches (how rude!), we have to hire human beings to monitor these children.
These monitors could be called… teachers.
We could position teachers along the skirt of the playground.. each with an Apple product, the iTeacher. If the iTeacher beeps, the teacher just uses his or her thumb… slide slide.. pinch… slide… PRESS PRESS. And the child is disabled until he can be redirected to a safer activity… like sitting against a tree.
If the children are engaging in a fight during a soccer match, the iTeacher could be used as a projectile.
Apple could also make an associated line of iKnapSacks into which soccer balls and other equipment could be stored.
Eventually, I think it would make sense to sell iClones in which you could add $500/mo to your phone bill so that Apple will simply replace your child if he is hurt, lost, or stolen.
I think infamous Information Binding Mechanism company (IBM) could get back into the real world by developing a line of child-containment-safety-lockers into which you could lock your children before you leave the house. You simply insert the catheter along with some comforting, soothing words… and then the locker gases your children, rendering them safe for a period of up to 8 hours.
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