Connect with us

Science & Technology

Can AI Help with the Chaos of Family Life? | Avni Patel Thompson | TED

Tech innovator Avni Patel Thompson designed an app to shield busy parents from the chaos of scheduling school pickups, coordinating playdates, planning birthday parties and more — but as the product developed, something felt off. What might we lose when AI smooths over the friction of everyday family life? Patel Thompson explores her surprising discovery…

Published

on

Tech innovator Avni Patel Thompson designed an app to shield busy parents from the chaos of scheduling school pickups, coordinating playdates, planning birthday parties and more — but as the product developed, something felt off. What might we lose when AI smooths over the friction of everyday family life? Patel Thompson explores her surprising discovery and how you can leverage AI to connect more deeply with the ones you love. (Recorded at TED2025 on April 10, 2025)

Join us in person at a TED conference:
Become a TED Member to support our mission:
Subscribe to a TED newsletter.

Follow TED!
X:
Instagram:
Facebook:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world’s leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Watch more:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

#TED #TEDTalks #Technology

Continue Reading
Advertisement
29 Comments

29 Comments

  1. @AnilPatel-tu2qj

    June 2, 2025 at 1:25 pm

    And the point of all this AI help is?

    • @Spiritthatplayswiththewind

      June 2, 2025 at 1:39 pm

      Something about Borg.

  2. @jessicaannekovalick

    June 2, 2025 at 1:52 pm

    Can AI Help with the Chaos of RICH PEOPLE Life? I promise you the working class isn’t thinking: damn i wish i had an ai to help with these dishes! we want tax breaks, affordable child care, universal health care, and 4 day work weeks. not a fucking AI to suck up what will be the last of our water lol

  3. @manon3057

    June 2, 2025 at 2:02 pm

    a big NO .

    and NO to TED

  4. @RickLambert963

    June 2, 2025 at 2:41 pm

    AI is Eliza effec, algorithmic/logarithmic bells and whistles, tricks of psychopath overlords. Stay away from my family. Get off my torture device.

  5. @aaronjaggan

    June 2, 2025 at 3:27 pm

    Monkey brain activates? 😮

  6. @mclark732

    June 2, 2025 at 4:04 pm

    Hi a calendar and a functional brain can do this too

    • @mugflub

      June 2, 2025 at 4:52 pm

      Still takes more time. Why do it the hard way if you can have an AI assistant that is faster and more accurate? Some people just love to hate on new technology.

  7. @mickeysmyspiritanimal223

    June 2, 2025 at 5:11 pm

    Great Ted Talk! But on a serious note, is “Rosa”, her nanny, safe from the ICE raids? I say this sincerely. She should ensure that her nanny, Rosa, is also being treated fairly and respectfully! After all, “Milo” and “Rosa” are the true heroes here! 🤔 😉

  8. @SkellyBobRoss

    June 2, 2025 at 7:14 pm

    Not thought provoking, just a lady deciding technology is going to take the place of her own human interactions.

  9. @ImSodaLirious

    June 2, 2025 at 8:12 pm

    “We should normalize being a corporate slave to the point where we need AI to take care of the offspring we neglect”

  10. @MuhammadBilal-l6m3s

    June 2, 2025 at 8:26 pm

    ALX is one of the very few tokens I’m bullish on for both short-term and long-term holds.

  11. @IgãoCohabense

    June 2, 2025 at 8:26 pm

    If you understand how early we are in this cycle, Alaxio is an obvious pickup.

  12. @14LêThịBíchHoa-v5n

    June 2, 2025 at 8:27 pm

    Micro-cap now, but Alaxio could become a mid-cap monster in just months.

  13. @danielolivas-y5x

    June 2, 2025 at 8:27 pm

    The market is primed for smart projects like Alaxio with working AI tools and utility.

  14. @CesarFlores-p3h2s

    June 2, 2025 at 8:28 pm

    Big players always buy quiet — Alaxio is still in that quiet phase.

  15. @ChanellDockery-r4c

    June 2, 2025 at 8:28 pm

    Just wait until influencers start doing breakdowns of what Alaxio is actually building.

  16. @AliMcGarel-b2z

    June 2, 2025 at 8:29 pm

    Alaxio’s AI tech is actually usable, not just a buzzword slapped on for marketing.

  17. @TravisHarger-t8y

    June 2, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Look back in a few months — this presale price for ALX might look like a steal.

  18. @McKenzieDolan-r6y

    June 2, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    If 2024 was about L1s and memes, 2025 will be all about AI and real use. Alaxio leads that charge.

  19. @JennD-x5o

    June 2, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Everyone’s going to wish they had stacked ALX before the breakout.

  20. @MorganWright-j9j

    June 2, 2025 at 8:31 pm

    Early investor vibes only 🔥 Alaxio is my top bet for Q2/Q3 📊🧠

  21. @SteveDobson-i4t

    June 2, 2025 at 8:31 pm

    Pay attention to Alaxio now, or regret it later — this is a timing game.

  22. @KarleneWilliamson-g1e

    June 2, 2025 at 8:32 pm

    I’m not saying it’ll go 100x, but Alaxio definitely has the framework to surprise us all.

  23. @GenevieveA-q6l

    June 2, 2025 at 8:32 pm

    When projects like Alaxio drop solid dev updates pre-launch, that’s a very bullish sign.

  24. @AndreiSimionescu-q2q

    June 2, 2025 at 8:33 pm

    I’ve seen presales flop and fly. Alaxio has all the markers of a future flyer.

  25. @robertjohn8711

    June 2, 2025 at 11:14 pm

    booooooooo

  26. @vidskipperai

    June 2, 2025 at 11:19 pm

    *_TIMESTAMPS_* & Summary (by *VidSkipper AI* ): AI can help manage family life by automating administrative tasks, but it’s important to preserve ‘productive friction’—meaningful human interactions—to maintain strong family connections and personal fulfillment, using AI as a tool to choose what truly matters.
    0:03 🤯 The Chaos of Modern Family Life
    • 👩‍💻 Speaker recounts a typical chaotic Tuesday afternoon, interrupted by work and family obligations, highlighting the challenges of managing a modern family.
    • 🧠 The speaker’s brain felt like a computer constantly running the family’s logistics, making collaboration difficult and leading to frustration.
    • 💡 This experience led to the creation of an AI company to build a machine that could intercept interruptions and manage family life more efficiently.
    2:32 🔬 Identifying and Solving Friction
    • 🛠️ The speaker draws on her background as a scientist and product designer to identify and solve tiny bits of friction in everyday interactions.
    • 📱 Examples include designing child-resistant packaging for osteoporosis drugs and creating an SMS-based service for parents to connect with sitters.
    • 👪 Parenthood is seen as the ‘friction Olympics,’ inspiring the speaker to build a force field to manage interruptions and streamline family life.
    3:43 🎉 The AI Solution: Milo
    • 🤖 AI could handle ambiguous and incomplete information, unlike traditional software, enabling it to manage family life more effectively.
    • 🎂 AI can handle the implicit things that often mess up tired, busy parents, such as reminding to buy a birthday present or checking for conflicts.
    • 👨‍💻 The speaker built Milo, the first AI sidekick for parents, to take on rote, repetitive, administrative parts of family life.
    5:32 🧱 The Value of Productive Friction
    • 🤔 The speaker realized that not all friction is bad; productive friction creates connection and meaningful interactions.
    • 🤝 Productive friction involves meaningful interactions disguised as inefficiencies, essential for human relationships.
    • 🛡️ The goal shifted from a perfectly solid force field to a permeable one, shielding from unproductive tasks but allowing meaningful interactions to come through.
    7:34 💖 AI’s Radical Potential: Meaningful Choices
    • ✨ AI can help us choose what is most meaningful and make space for us to do it ourselves, rather than just doing things faster and better.
    • ❤️ The most radical thing AI can do is encourage us not to be more perfect and productive but unfinished and evolving.
    • 🙏 We should not be afraid to bear the friction, which shows us how we are all beautifully, imperfectly, inconveniently human.

    ** Generated using ✨ *_VidSkipper AI_* Chrome Extension

  27. @argynews

    June 3, 2025 at 4:41 pm

    What is she talking about how could all the mother of the world with 2-3-4-5 children and a job balance everything and remember all the tasks without AI. Sounds like she doesn’t want to put in the work.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CNET

Quick Start: Setting Up Your Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro

Everything you need to know to set up your new Galaxy Buds4 Pro earbuds: connect to Bluetooth, change your earbud tips, and charging from your phone or wirelessly. #howtodoitall #tutorial #setup #buds4pro #galaxybuds

Published

on

Everything you need to know to set up your new Galaxy Buds4 Pro earbuds: connect to Bluetooth, change your earbud tips, and charging from your phone or wirelessly. #howtodoitall #tutorial #setup #buds4pro #galaxybuds

Continue Reading

CNET

Unboxing Apple’s New $549 AirPods Max 2 in Purple

At first glance, the AirPods Max 2 don’t seem like much of an upgrade from their predecessor. But when you factor in the improved noise canceling, sound quality, voice-calling performance and new features, they do seem to be about 20% better than the previous model. That may not seem like a huge difference, but it’s…

Published

on

At first glance, the AirPods Max 2 don’t seem like much of an upgrade from their predecessor.

But when you factor in the improved noise canceling, sound quality, voice-calling performance and new features, they do seem to be about 20% better than the previous model. That may not seem like a huge difference, but it’s greater than you may imagine.

Let’s unbox the AirPods Max 2 in purple. 💜🎧 #airpods #apple #airpodsmax2 #airpodsmax #unboxing #headphones

Continue Reading

CNET

Seriously, Don’t Buy a Router Right Now

The FCC just banned the sale of foreign-made routers, and those banned routers will no longer receive essential security firmware and software updates after March 1, 2027. But CNET senior writer and router expert Joe Supan says don’t panic buy anything yet. Here’s why. #wifi #router #fcc #policy Read more: If You Buy a New…

Published

on

The FCC just banned the sale of foreign-made routers, and those banned routers will no longer receive essential security firmware and software updates after March 1, 2027. But CNET senior writer and router expert Joe Supan says don’t panic buy anything yet. Here’s why. #wifi #router #fcc #policy

Read more: If You Buy a New Router, It Might ‘Turn Into a Pumpkin’ Next Year

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

Continue Reading

Trending