Holagrams of Parents When They are at Wars

Troops who left the military because they are needed in the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, will be soon getting payed by the Pentagon up to $500 bonuses monthly. The Pentagon now wants to create a computerized holagram-like for children whose parents are far from home or at the war and are not able to contact them. That way when moms and dads are beyond telephone and, or e-mail contact, moms and dads can talk with their kids.

"The stresses of deployment might be softened if spouses, and especially children, could conduct simple conversations with their loved ones in immediate times of stress or prolonged absence," says the Pentagon solicitation. "The requirements for voice recognition and a customized, family-specific nature make the idea technically challenging. Not to mention the need for artificial intelligence to respond appropriately to what the child might say. "The application should incorporate an AI that allows for flexibility in language comprehension to give the illusion of a natural (but simple) interaction," the solicitation says." (Mark, 2009)

Catherine Caldwell-Harris, a psychology professor at Boston University question is "How would a young child understand an artificial-intelligence program that is a simulacrum of their parent?" (Mark, 2009)

Simular questions have been ask by Blogs as well . Their wondering what the impact would be on a military kid whose parent is killed in action but continues to "live on" in cyberspace. Shilling says if the military discovers the idea is too challenging or won't benefit the troops and their families, the project won't go forward.

Hmm.. I thought the idea is pretty cool and interesting, like how they will get moms and dads different voices and their image on the product. But thinking of the little kids who might not realize that its just a holagram and they might die or get killed in the action so0 it just might not be a good idea anymore 4 those little kids who dont understand.

Source: Thompson, M (2009, January 9). When Daddy Is Off at War: A Hologram Home?. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1870426,00.html?cnn=yes Web site: www.time.com