I asked AI to show me a stay-at-home mom’s life — it got it so wrong

Parenting

By Jordana Shell, Kidspot

In a world where AI is the way of the future, how is it so far behind when it comes to depicting being a stay-at-home mom? 

Recently, I came across this clip on Insta where ChatGPT was asked a series of prompts about what a stay-at-home mum looked like in 2024. 

Despite being repeatedly told “more stay at home, more crazy,” the images it served up were wholesome, joyous, and without a s—ty nappy in sight.

Being a SAHM myself, I took one look and thought — this is bulls—t.

That’s not SAHM life, that’s a Pinterest family

I have a question for the magical AI bot that thinks he, sorry, it — knows everything. 

Where’s the image showing s—t on the floor under the couch (still unsure how that happened — also my bad for nappy free time), and the same nappy-free toddler slipping and falling as he tries to walk soaking wet after his bum was rinsed, while the other two boys are screaming for the TV to be turned back on?

Yes, that was actually my afternoon before the bedtime routine even kicked off.

Let me tell you, ChatGPT, that’s the accurate representation of being at home with kids.

I’m guessing that wasn’t part of the algorithm — because who wants to see that when you could see happy smiling perfection? 

Because SAHMs have it easy, right?

Totally unrealistic and so wrong

Buck back to the clip on Insta. Watching it, I was appalled. 

Is this seriously what people think stay at home life looks like?

I have three boys, who are eight, six and 18 months. I’m lucky if I can sit down and get a photo of all three of them with a face that doesn’t scream, “he’s touching me,” let alone me being in it.

Because that’s the reality of being a mum, you’re taking the photo, never in the one yourself. 

On a side note: does anyone else think these school holidays are about six weeks too long? 

A Disney version of reality

Looking at the images of what seems to be the standard shot of a SAHM’s day, is not like looking in a mirror at all.

They could be a poster for the newest Disney movie, “The Stay at Home Mom.”

Where the mum is smiling all day with her animal friends, helping her prep food, clean the house and mend her sons’ clothes as she hums a merry tune. While looking perfectly put together with the best hair.

LOL. 

But hey. Maybe I was being too tough on ChatGPT. It was only one video, after all. So I decided to try it myself.

I typed in the simplest prompt in search, ‘stay-at-home mum with three boys’ — and the images that popped up really surprised me.

My house actually looks like a zoo

Firstly, AI can’t count — there were only two boys in half of the images created, and secondly, AI cannot depict faces (yet!).

My head and heart were screaming — that’s not how it looks, even on a good day! 

Where is the heaviness of a mental load that just won’t quit? 

How come my house looks like a zoo and this AI version of me doesn’t have one thing out of place? 

Where is that giant pile of laundry that needs to be washed, folded and put away? 

Has dinner been prepped as per my children’s obscenely intricate (aka limited) diets?

ChatGPT you still have a lot of learning to do

I’ll give ChatGPT the benefit of the doubt. It’s impossible to capture a SAHM mom’s life in one still image!

But it’s also impossible to ignore the disconnect; this is what happens when a very well-trained algorithm is asked to depict a stay-at-home mum vs the reality of stay-at-home and working mums. 

Maybe the lesson is this: we all as a collective need to show the raw, unfiltered and real moments of parenthood in order for the AI bots of the future to better understand us as human beings.

Because if you don’t see it, how do you know it’s there?