Parenting is the scariest and most exhilarating roller coaster ride imaginable. It often leaves you mentally, emotionally, and physically drained, which is why it struck such a chord with me to see a Google commercial depicting its Gemini Live AI as a solution for struggling parents.
Google’s Pixel 9 ad shows snapshots of different people talking to Gemini Live about daily tasks: cooking a meal, trying to fix a car, even interpreting a dream. But the scenario that caught my attention was a frazzled-looking man asking about bedtime for his children. I chuckled when I saw the commercial during a Thanksgiving football game, as did the people in the room with me. It’s meant to be a comedic moment that showcases Gemini’s talents, but my brain took it further.
Bedtime finds parents at their weakest points. Because parenting is a series of decision blocks stacked on top of each other throughout the days, weeks, and months, it can be tough to remember how those blocks fit together at the end of an exhausting day. Is giving your kids “just five more minutes” fine, or will it derail their entire sleep schedule?
I tried Gemini Live when it launched on iOS, and my brief interactions were good enough to trick me into responding with “Thank you” at the end of my conversation. But I soon forgot about it until Google’s ad inspired me to give AI a turn at solving some tough parenting decisions.
‘It’s Your Job as a Parent’
The first experience with AI parenting came when discussing my son’s upcoming math test. He was downplaying it and didn’t think he needed to study much, so I asked Gemini Live what to do.
“My 14-year-old son has a math test on Friday. Shouldn’t he study for it tonight?”
The answer from the synthetic voice was an unequivocal yes. While laughing, my son immediately spun up reasons why he had the test in the bag.
I let the AI know that he was arguing about it, and Gemini suggested I offer him a deal that would let him play video games for an hour if he studied. His mom and I already have a “no video games during the week” policy, so I wasn’t sure about this tactic. I let the AI know that, and it suggested I tell my son that studying now would alleviate stress on the day of the test.
After that strategy was rebuffed, Gemini Live finally suggested it was time to “lay down the law.”
The AI explained: “While he might not like it, it’s your job as a parent to make sure he’s doing what he needs to do to succeed in school. Explain that you understand he doesn’t want to study, but it’s non-negotiable.”
Regardless of parenting style or deeper thoughts on what Google was implying here, I did notice the oddity of a stricter computer response. It felt like it was telling me to be a parent as much as it was telling him to study. I hadn’t expected that tone from my phone.
I brought Gemini Live into the conversation a few more times after that, but my family’s patience quickly waned. Google’s responses felt overly generic, leading to frustration.
Gemini’s Sage Advice (Which Moms Probably Already Know)
I switched to asking Gemini Live for general parenting advice and it quickly nailed a key area that took me way too long to figure out.
“Consistency is key. If you say you’ll do something, do it. If you say there’s a consequence for bad behavior, follow through. It helps kids feel safe and secure when they know what to expect,” it said. “Try to stay calm, even when your kid is driving you crazy. Getting worked up just makes things worse. It’s okay to take a few minutes to cool down before dealing with whatever’s going on.”
I recognized the sage advice as something I’d heard from my wife for a long time. She found it amusing when I started explaining to my son that consistency is good for him, and helps his parents’ mental load. He disagreed, of course, but that’s another lesson in itself: Teenage boys aren’t always agreeable.
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In another instance, I asked Gemini to show its works: Which websites did its parenting advice come from? It responded with reputable resources like the American Academy of Pediatrics, Zero to Three, and Mayo Clinic. However, a link at the bottom of this response caught my eye. I clicked the URL and was sent to an an Indonesian website with a web quiz that asked, among other things, if I’d slap a baby for $1 million.
(Credit: Tyler Hayes)
The End of Parenting With AI, For Now
That weird link broke the illusion that I was talking to a sentient being. I didn’t blindly trust it going in, but I was willing to go along with its responses as long as they seemed reasonable. I can’t imagine the Mayo Clinic recommends slapping babies.
In winding down this experiment, I asked my kids for their take on using AI for parenting. Did they mind it? Was it interesting to hear its answers? What did they think of the responses?
My 12-year-old daughter said it seemed strange to think of me talking to Gemini throughout the day. Her current perception of voice assistants is something that turns the lights on and off or answers one-time spelling and math questions. She asks her smart clock for the weather in the morning, but she doesn’t chat back and forth with the robots.
My son said Gemini Live’s answers sounded professional, and he recalled one time when it mentioned the American Academy of Pediatrics as part of its answer. But he agreed that in its current form, as an app on my phone, it’s not a helpful addition to family discussions. If I’m going to ask Gemini Live parenting questions, my son would prefer I do it while he’s not there.
For me, the biggest realization was that the AI’s answers didn’t matter as much as the discussions they fostered with my kids.
I don’t recommend anyone offload their parenting duties to AI yet, although it might be a way to gain perspective in certain situations or occasionally serve as a neutral third party. As we begin 2025, the state of conversational AI is a facade. At best, it’s a replacement for doing a web search. But Google, OpenAI, and others are betting big on conversational AI, so it may be a different story in the years ahead.
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About Tyler Hayes
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