Original tweet:
Transcript
Screenshot of a Bluesky quote chain.
The first post, by @DKThomp on Twitter, says: "Fascinating @benthompson vision of the future of the Internet—i.e., 'The Agentic Web' Scenario: Before I go to sleep, I tell ChatGPT 'Plan my 5-year-old's birthday next Saturday, budget $500. When you've made the reservation, email these 20 ppl a printable invitation to attend. Also my wife wants to go to England in mid-July. Find 5 plausible flights for the family and make several distinct itineraries. Finally, pls edit this work memo.'
When I go to sleep, the Al agent negotiates slots with two bowling alleys, buys a cake, emails printable invites, plans the trip, copy-edits, etc."
It is quoted by Drew Harwell on Bluesky: "Wouldn't do this in a million years".
This quote is then quoted by @cinemashoebox.bsky.social: "Waking up to 20 angry parents of my son's friends wondering why they've been sent an invitation to a BRITOTHDYA PRRRYT featuring a picture of Elsa with three eyes and tits bigger than her head. meanhile my wife is boarding a plane for her 176 hour flight to England via four layovers in Antarctica"
Roundabout way to say “I’m a bad parent”.
I don’t have kids but pretty sure part of being a parent and forming a bond with your child is putting effort into raising them.
ChatGPT will know what they like so you don’t have to.
That's kind of a childless thing to say lol
I also don't have any either but I have enough friends and family with young kids to know that it's unrealistic to do everything well so you have to pick and choose which parts of your kids' lives are worth the extra effort.
Every parent I know would jump at the opportunity to outsource the tedious crap. Some people love party planning but for most, there is little enjoyment to be found researching and booking a birthday party for a child.
As a parent, I’ll say that while sure, I’d love to outsource “some of the tedious crap”… it’s their birthday. It’s literally the ONE TIME in the year it matters enough that you pay attention to your kid and plan things.
Like, you can phone in so much else, but it’s their fucking birthday. They will remember this crap and never let you forget if you screw it up.
I am a parent. While I don't look forward to the whole planning part, seeing how my daughter has so much fun with her themed birthday parties is more than enough reward. It's also something she'll remember forever.
Being a shitty parent is easy, being a good one takes work but it is very rewarding. It also helps that you bring a better person into the world that way.
Unless it'd be outsourced to a party planner, I can't imagine doing this. It's definitely culture dependent, but part of some core party memories were having seen parents jump through hoops to make the day special. Did they drive to the other end of town to get the special cake you like even though they could have gotten some other cake? Did they remember the specific shade of green you said was your favorite? Did they remember to use your nickname on the cake instead of your full name? I know not all families operate like that, but I had a friend whose mom always decorated their cake. She didn't like doing it, and it was never good, but her mother always did hers and she wanted to keep the tradition alive. It was always so sweet and funny and looking back definitely some of the best parts of their parties. This is obviously very specific, but if you do throw parties for your kids, I struggle to see how you wouldn't want to at least make them feel like you put in the effort.