Chinese father lets his son watch TV for hours, but there's a catch every 10 minutes

A father from China used AI to interrupt his son's television viewing with school quizzes every 10 minutes. The system turned a screen-time dispute into an educational game that attracted other parents.Chinese father lets his son watch TV for hours, but there's a catch every 10 minutes (Photo: Representational Image from Pexels)A father in China came up with an unusual way to keep his son from spending hours in front of the television: he used artificial intelligence (AI) to turn TV time into a series of pop quizzes, forcing the boy to answer school questions every 10 minutes before he could continue watching.The clever workaround, developed by a taxi driver in Shenzhen, has caught the attention of parents across mainland China, many of whom have reportedly asked him to share instructions for setting up the system. The South China Morning Post reported on the father's experiment, citing Shenzhen TV.The father, whose name was not disclosed, said his son was a junior secondary school student who spent much of his time watching television instead of concentrating on his studies.He had tried several ways to limit the screen time, but his son found ways around them. The television's built-in question-and-answer feature did little to help, as the boy managed to bypass it. A smart plug that was supposed to switch off the TV at a fixed time also failed, because the child simply unplugged it. Frustrated with the failed attempts, the father turned to an AI app in October for a different solution. The tool suggested developing a programme that would require the boy to answer questions before continuing to watch television.The AI generated the programme, which the father then refined with its help and installed on the TV. Now, every 10 minutes of viewing is interrupted by a question on the screen. The quizzes cover Chinese, mathematics and English, with questions based on what the boy has been learning at school. An incorrect answer means he has to solve an additional question, and the show resumes only after he gets the answer right.To the father's surprise, the system did not turn into another battle over screen time. His son actually began enjoying the quizzes, prompting him to consider making the questions more challenging.The idea also attracted interest from other parents, several of whom wanted to know how they could install a similar programme on their own television sets. The father said he needed a few more days to prepare a tutorial, as different TV models came with different safety and privacy settings.Interestingly, he insisted that his intention was not to stop his son from watching television altogether. Instead, he wanted the process to become a sort of game between the two of them.“He is allowed to use various ways to break my system, and I will try my best to fix the holes. Isn’t this a learning process for both of us?” he said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.He added that he would be happy if his son eventually figured out his own ways to tackle the challenges.The experiment came amid growing interest in using AI for children's education in China. AI-powered private tutors, which offer interactive lessons, have become popular among students.The SCMP also reported that a 13-year-old girl in Shanghai developed an AI tool to help parents monitor their children's study habits, winning third prize at a national AI marketing competition in August.- Ends