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25 unique baby names created by a computer
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Ever heard of a neural network? It's basically a computer that thinks like a human, and it just created baby names. - photo by Herb Scribner
Stanford computer science Ph.D. candidate Andrej Karpathy has spent the bulk of his career working with neural networks computer systems modeled after the human brain and nervous systems.

These networks are often used as tools to create human-like data through computers. Karpathy has used this tool in the past to classify selfies as either good or bad by feeding his computer 2 million selfies. Through Twitter, Karpathy allowed an actual selfie bot to identify whether a particular selfie would be appealing to Internet users.

Toward the end of last year, Karpathy also ran an experiment that could have an impact on families. As a part of his #RandomExperimentSundays campaign, he ran more than 8,000 baby names through his neural network to find if there were any baby names that were uniquely created by his computer.

And indeed, there were.

As Karpathy posted on Google+, more than 90 percent of the names his computer created were not included in the data he submitted, which was made up of thousands of common female and male.

The result included more than 1,000 names total, some of which were more unique than others. And while Karpathy included 100 on his Google+ post, weve decided to show you 25 from the list: Charyanne, Sales, Sanny, Resa, Wallon, Martine, Merus, Jelen, Candica, Wallin, Tel, Rachene, Tarine, Ozila, Ketia, Shanne, Arnande, Karella, Roselina, Alessia, Chasty, Deland, Berther, Geamar and Jackein.

For more names, visit the full list here.

In an age where theres an app for everything, a computer that can generate baby names doesnt seem too far-fetched. In fact, Ive previously written about an app that allows users to swipe left or right on baby names like Tinder.

Deciding on a baby name can be a hard process for married couples, though. Experts warn parents that they should always consider the child first when trying to pick their newborn a name.

"My No. 1 tip is to stop and pretend you're naming yourself," Laura Wattenberg, author of "The Baby Name Wizard," told WebMD. "If you're starting out in your life today, is this what you would want to represent you?"

Parents may want to gravitate toward trendy names, like names that are unique and will set their child apart from others. Thats why many city names Austin, Brooklyn and Boston have all become popular in recent years. Parents will even look to nature or vintage baby names for inspiration, according to WebMD.

To find the right baby name, experts recommend parents share their top picks with each other, and that will give the couple options from which to choose from. It may also be a good idea to pick a name thats easy to spell, since that could free your child of issues later in life.

Whatever name parents choose, the father and mother should be in agreement of their decision.

"Names can bring up deep-seated feelings about ethnicity, self-image and gender identity," Pamela Redmond Satran, co-author of "The Baby Name Bible," told WebMD. "The ultimate goal is to try to accommodate each other's feelings and arrive at a name that addresses both of your feelings."
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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