Software engineer faces backlash over AI voice reading proposal

Alvin Sng, a software engineer based in San Francisco, sparked intense social media criticism after suggesting he could use artificial intelligence to read bedtime stories to his infant child.

Following a discussion with his wife regarding reading books aloud, Sng proposed training a voice model to perform the task, stating, “I can train a voice model. Parenting is different when you work with AI.” The comment went viral on X, drawing backlash from users who labeled the idea “absolute madness” and criticized the use of technology to replace human parental interaction. Sng subsequently deleted the post and indicated he would return to reading stories in person.