By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Jet Lai (Photo provided by the Lai Family)
Like most kids, 10-year-old Jet Lai has some trouble finishing his chores. Unlike most kids, Lai turned this into an opportunity. The inventive Whidbey Islander created an app that will tell parents when their kids really finish their chores. Called “ChoreCheck,” this app uses current digital technology to determine whether tasks get done, and limits screen time until they do.
Lai made it to the quarter finals of Bill Nye’s America’s Favorite Student with his digital skills, which are what led him to creating the app shortly afterward. Lai now fears he won’t make it through any other contests, because, as he says, only half-jokingly, “I’ll probably be America’s most hated student after this app gets published.”
The app, which will be released on Google Play, is in its testing phase and Lai is already well into updating and fixing bugs. For now, due to Apple’s more stringent policies as compared to Google’s, ChoreCheck will only be available for Android devices. And, Google is Lai’s playground. At the prompting of his parents, he has been taking classes on Google Skills. It was actually to show off these skills that Lai entered the famous Science Guy’s competition. The main thing that people were impressed with [at the competition],” Lai’s dad, Andrew, told us, “was that Jet was taking these courses…to make apps like this, that he was using AI to make things happen.”
ChoreCheck is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which Lai believes is useful as a tool in the hands of inventors such as himself. He especially appreciates the way that AI simplifies otherwise onerous tasks for us. With ChoreCheck, after a parent sets the parameters and provides photographic images of what a perfectly done chore looks like, then the child presents a finished task to the app’s camera. ChoreCheck then compares the child’s efforts to the ideal image and determines whether the job is done. If yes, then the child will be rewarded with screen time. You may be asking, can’t the child just get around this and use the device for fun (not chores) anyway? The answer is no. ChoreCheck blocks the child from doing anything else on the device until chores are done. However, it is possible to use the device in case of an emergency. The app also cannot be uninstalled by a clever child; only the parents have administrative control.
Photo provided by the Lai Family
Lai has been learning coding and other important digital technology skills through his school, as well as through Google Skills, which provides adult-level, college-level training. He is part of Washington state’s Highly Capable, or HiCap, program for school kids, although on Whidbey Island, they are considering ending participation in the program. Nevertheless, with the skills he has already gained and those he is eagerly learning, Lai moves inexorably forward. He has put ChoreCheck onto a GoFundMe and is working on putting it onto Kickstarter. He and his family also hope to go on Shark Tank with the app in order to help Lai earn funds to continue improving the app. Plans are for the app to be acquired through a subscription (which will be at a discount for those that get the app through Kickstarter).
Photo provided by the Lai Family
In addition to his interest in app building (he has immediate plans to create at least four more), Lai also considers himself a “foodie.” To this end, he started a YouTube channel with the name “Jet’s Food Adventures.” Lately, the channel has mainly been used to showcase Lai’s Google Skills, yet there is an occasional video of Lai trying out a new food trend, such as mango shaped ice cream. The channel hilariously features an image of the famous foodie, Garfield, passed out next to a pizza, and a photo of Lai, also with a giant pizza he is presumably about to try. In addition to showcasing Lai’s diverse interests, the platform is helpful for the family to record Lai’s achievements. As for now, Google does not provide certifications through Google Skills unless the student is an adult.
Lai might need help getting his chores done, yet through this journey, he has demonstrated his diligence and his ability to really “think of everything.” The Lai family has been featured in the Northwest Asian Weekly before due to the singing and performing talents of Lai’s older sister, Genelia, who sang at the celebration of the new Bruce Lee postage stamp. We asked Lai if there might be some “healthy” competition between him and his sister. The answer is a resounding yes. Luckily, said Lai’s dad, the two kids have very different areas of expertise. Their parents are hoping that, in the future, they will help each other, rather than seeing each other as rivals.
Photo provided by the Lai Family
Living in the Pacific Northwest, a home of tech giants, Lai comes by his interests honestly and naturally. He counts Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, among his idols. “I always look at the Microsoft building whenever we pass it,” he said. Why does he admire Microsoft and people like Allen? Lai’s own aspirations echo in his answer: “They made their own thing, like their computer, they basically invented it. It’s a huge company, yet it started small.”
Lai is still looking for volunteers to help test ChoreCheck. Those interested in assisting with the testing may reach out to Lai via email at worldofgal@gmail.com.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
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