CIS101 Final Project

SUBMITTED TO:

MS. AJMIRI SABRINA KHAN

LECTURERDEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING,

INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH.

SUBMITTED BY:

SUMAIYA AKTAR

1920548

COURSE CODE:

CIS101,SEC:9

Submission date: 28th august 2022

Table of Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................................2
What are digital offspring?......................................................................................................................3
What will these kids look like?.................................................................................................................3
What are the advantages of having digital children?..............................................................................3
Review of Current Literature......................................................................................................................4
Theoretical framework............................................................................................................................4
Works Cited.................................................................................................................................................5
Gap and Research Questions......................................................................................................................6
Methodology..............................................................................................................................................7
Process of collecting data:.......................................................................................................................7
Problems faced:.......................................................................................................................................7
Results & Discussion...................................................................................................................................8
Figure: 1...................................................................................................................................................8
Figure: 2...................................................................................................................................................8
Figure: 3...................................................................................................................................................9
Figure: 4...................................................................................................................................................9
Figure: 5.................................................................................................................................................10
Figure: 6.................................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................11
The final thought?.................................................................................................................................11
Appendixes...............................................................................................................................................12
Appendix 1. Google Form Link:..............................................................................................................12
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/121zLUWmG8eCXHPyE58Ht9cUr2yrEYibzTr8AngiIBFs/edit...............12
Appendix 2. Excel File:...........................................................................................................................12

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 Abstract

We all know that the 'metaverse' is a set of virtual spaces where people can game, work and
communicate with others who aren't in the same physical space as them. The idea of
Tamagotchi kids rises from here. people basically can have children without biologically having
them.

The low cost of virtual kids isn’t their only selling point. Campbell believes they could also solve
the overstated problem of overpopulation. She envisions digital babies with photo-realistic
bodies, simulated emotional responses, and AI-powered interactive capabilities. Naturally,
they’ll live in “the metaverse.” The parents would also be able to interact with them in digital
environments such as a park, swimming pool or living room. They will also be able to choose
how quickly the children grow up, if at all, and can share conversations and listen to a baby’s
coo and giggle as part of the vision for the futuristic technology.

Introduction

The name "Tamagotchi" officially comes from the Japanese word "tamago" meaning "egg", and
the English word "watch". The Tamagotchi children in Metaverse was designed to give people
the experience of parenthood.

‘Virtual children that will play with you, cuddle you, and even look like you will soon be
commonplace in 50 years and could help to combat overpopulation’ as has been claimed by
Ms. Catorina Campbell one of the UK’s leading authorities on AI and emerging technologies.

These computer-generated offspring called Tamagotchi will only exist in the immersive digital
world known as the ‘metaverse ‘, which is accessed using virtual reality technology such as a
headset to make a user feel as if they’re face-to-face with the child. They will cost next to

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nothing to bring up, as they will require minimal resources, according to Catriona Campbell. She
also stated, ‘As the metaverse evolves, I can see virtual children becoming an accepted and fully
embraced part of society in much of the developed world.’

What are digital offspring?

According to Campbell, technology is likely to advance so much that parents will have the
option to have virtual babies, which will exist in the metaverse. They can be accessed using
virtual reality technology like a headset to make a user feel as if they’re face-to-face with the
child.

In an interview with Guardian, the British AI expert said that digital children will not be an
anomaly. “As the metaverse evolves, I can see virtual children becoming an accepted and fully
embraced part of society in much of the developed world,” she said.

What will these kids look like?

Digital children can be built to look like their parents. “You will be able to play with and cuddle
them. They will be capable of simulated emotional responses as well as speech, which will
range from ‘googoo gaga’ to backchat, as they grow older,” Campbell told Guardian.

What are the advantages of having digital children?

For starters, it can control overpopulation. Also, raising children is a costly affair. Not so much
with virtual babies. people can have them if people can afford the subscription or until the time
they are not bored. Virtual children will consume far lesser resources than human babies and
they will have little impact on the environment.

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 Review of Current Literature

Theoretical framework

Since the idea is still very new, there are merely any research data available out there, the
whole idea is yet being developed to meet the reality. With few surfs to the Google scholar
Though I had found there are some research paper that does mention about the metaverse and
it’s future.

One article found on pewresearch.org suggests that Two meta insights about the future of the
metaverse These themes anchored many experts predictions as they considered the metaverse
in 2040:

• Augmented- and mixed-reality applications will dominate over virtual-reality advances:

Some argued that the most popular technological enhancements will be tied to
augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), enabled by artificial intelligence (AI)
systems.
• The next-generation networked-knowledge ecosystem can be built in ways that better
serve people than the current web does: A share of these experts argued that coming
tech advances in metaverse technologies will magnify all human activities, including the
problems now associated with the current Web 2.0 environment

The research appear also suggests that The metaverse will fully emerge as its advocates predict
but may not fully emerge in the way today’s advocates hope they also made arguments that

• It will not be seen as useful in daily life: A portion of these experts pointed out that quite
a few immersive augmented and/or virtual spaces already exist and are only attracting
niche participants.

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 • The technology needed to reach a lot more people will not be ready in 2040: Upgrades
in software, hardware, user interfaces and network capability will not be advanced
enough to lure mass people.
• People prefer living in layers of ‘real’ reality: Most people will continue to find full
immersion in VR unappealing.
• Public worries about the impact of surveillance capitalism and abuse by authoritarian
regimes will slow or stop adoption.
• There are any number of threatening and harmful uses of XR: These experts noted a few
problems that may worsen or arise in metaverse spaces, including reductions in
autonomy and people’s ability to control their lives.

Another article in the website www.Theguardian.com suggested that Tamagotchi kids could be
the future of parenthood of having virtual children in the metaverse.

Works Cited

Rainie, J. A. (2022, June 30). The Metaverse in 2040. Retrieved from pewresearch.org:
www.pewresearch.org

unknown. (2022, May 31). Tamagotchi kids: could the future of parenthood be having virtual children in
the metaverse? Retrieved from Theguardian.com: http://www.theguardian.com

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 Gap and Research Questions

To collect my target data and conclude it in my project report I did come up with some
questions that fulfills the requirements of my analysis and finding’s standard some sample
questions are as follows:

 Mention at least one movie name that you've watched that is based on "Artificial
intelligence" (If any)?: with this question I want to find out if the audiences that I have
targeted through this survey whether or not has any prior knowledge of Artificial
intelligence which will later on help me figure out their point of view toward this whole
topic.

 Is AI more of a threat or more of an opportunity for Our future Generations?: want to

observe The Audiences acceptance and rejection of ‘AI’ (artificial intelligence).

 Virtual children that play with you and look like you will be common in 50 years" That is
the prediction of one of the UK's leading experts on artificial intelligence. Do you agree
to this statement?: gathering insights of Audience’s reactions.

 Experts say virtual kids would have minimal cost and environmental impact. When the
tech is ready, it could even offer tailored experiences to each user looking for a virtual
baby. could help us solve some of today's most pressing issues, including
overpopulation. How would you like to react to that?: gathering insights of Audience’s
reactions.

 let's Say you're given a chance to be a part of this Whole Tamagotchi Kid Campaign,
what would be you're response to it?: focusing on their interest/bias if given a chance to
be in a position to choose to be a part of it.

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 Methodology

Process of collecting data:

All the data that was used to conclude in this research had come from primary data source
which is online survey questionnaires through which target Audiences were reached. The
survey contained the sample questions mentioned earlier as well as some other related
questions focusing on the topic. An online form using ‘Google form’ was made with all the
questions and electronic medias and social media such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp etc.
was the prime place where I on had posted and launched the form. Both male and female
audiences were targeted aged between 24-45.

Problems faced:

The one problem that is I had faced is the number of responses I could get; it seemed rather
difficult to collect information in online mode of survey in compared with face-to-face mode of
survey. As mentioned earlier this whole topic that the research was based on “Tamagotchi kids”
and “raising children in metaverse” is very new for the audiences, and people don’t want to
comment on something they don’t know or haven’t heard of. In contrast with those results of
the survey showed reflection of this hypothesis. The questions had generated more of a neutral
response rather than a direct yes/no or agree/disagree situation.

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 Results & Discussion

Figure: 1
Here it was asked to see if the audiences are familiar with the term Artificial intelligence and as
it shows majority of them knew about it.

Figure: 2
Upon asking if the audiences believe ‘AI’ is a threat or opportunity the result showed more of a
neutral response from the audiences

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Figure: 3
When The question asked for agreement or disagreement of the audiences regarding
humanizing AI to make it more appealing for the public to interact with. Responses again came
to neutral point.

Figure: 4
Experts say virtual kids would have minimal cost and environmental impact. When the tech is
ready, it could even offer tailored experiences to each user looking for a virtual baby.  could
help us solve some of today's most pressing issues, including overpopulation. Audiences
reacted negatively regards to the statement.

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Figure: 5
Upon asking whether or not they see the idea of virtual children becoming a accepted and
embraced part of the society, result was majority of the votes went to neutral.

Figure: 6
Given an option of being a part of this “Tamagotchi kids” campaign majority audiences chose
option Neutral.

The data that I generated from my survey indicates a trend of neutrality and a negative
undermining towards the idea of raising kids in metaverse. Though the window of my survey
were very small, still the data concluded showed a overall tentative negative outcome whereas

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The researches that I followed through out to collect data from secondary sector showed a
tendency of positivity where as the primary data collected through survey showed otherwise.

Conclusion

The final thought?

The importance of the metaverse stems from its ability to provide a shared environment and
economy for all people. Technology and its revolution has made wonder over all stages of life
and Metaverse represents the next phase of this evolution. Raising kids in metaverse might
combat the ever-growing issue of over population and might help those who are physically
unable to taste parenthood. It could even be environment friendly as well as cost effective as
argued by the AI experts. But the survey concluded suggests otherwise, people might not be
easily reached for this campaign and nurture negativity towards the whole idea, Simply because
as of now People prefer living in layers of ‘real’ reality over virtual reality. Also The technology
needed to reach a lot more people will not be ready by 2050 as AI experts anticipate.

So to summarize it all even though the idea of raising children in metaverse seems to be
promising enough perhaps the timing of introducing people with the idea is not. May be in
some 50 years or so as predicted by AI officials it could be a common thing then but seems like
people are not ready to embrace it yet.

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 Appendixes

Appendix 1. Google Form Link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/121zLUWmG8eCXHPyE58Ht9cUr2yrEYibzTr8AngiIBFs/edit

Appendix 2. Excel File:

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