Optimized Childhood
by Victoria L Brun
"Mom, can I go to Sadie's house?" my twelve-year old asked as she leaned against the doorway to the living room.
"Let me check the model," I said, reaching for my tablet. Jessica groaned and rolled her eyes in a show of classical adolescent angst, but I was used to it. I ignored her dramatics as I open the Digital Twin app. With just a few clicks, it ran a model of the proposed scenario, mapping out thousands of possibilities of how this decision could affect Jessica's life.
It was an incredible tool--leveraging state-of-the-art artificial intelligence to help us parents make the right decisions for our kids. It was a lifesaver. I didn't know how parents used to make decisions before this app. Being a parent back then must have been a nightmare.
"So can I go?" Jessica asked, drawing out the words into a long whine.
"One second," I said as the model finished running and loaded the results screen. The app provided a lot of data, but I'd become proficient at deciphering it, and the results were quite clear this time.
"No, I'm afraid you can't, not today," I said, glancing up from the screen. "It would reduce the chance of you getting into medical school by 0.02%. There is a moderate p value, but we just can't take that chance."
"I don't even want to be a doctor," Jessica snapped.
