Non-coding mother maps baby-changing facilities with AI

Sahra Tappura, a 28-year-old mother who cannot code, has used artificial intelligence to build a website mapping baby-changing facilities, Yle reports.

The idea came to her last spring while she was pushing her infant daughter Olivia through Helsinki. When the baby needed a nappy change, Tappura could not think of a nearby place where she could do it conveniently.

She then wondered whether other parents faced the same problem, particularly in unfamiliar surroundings. Her solution was to collect baby-changing locations on a map and allow parents of young children to suggest new places.

Tappura developed the website, called Vauvakartta.fi, in a few days using AI tools. She first shaped the idea with ChatGPT’s voice-dictation function while putting her baby down for a nap. She used Claude, a tool designed for coding and building AI products, to create the service.

The first version was ready within a couple of days. Tappura shared an early version on the discussion platform Jodel, where parents of young children quickly began sharing it and suggesting additional locations.

The platform now includes playgrounds and children’s clothing and supplies shops as well as baby-changing facilities. It also covers locations across Finland, including Inari, in addition to Helsinki.

Professor says programming skills remain important

Laura Ruotsalainen, a computer science professor at the University of Helsinki, was enthusiastic when she heard about the website.

“This is definitely the best use of generative AI I have heard about in a long time,” Ruotsalainen said. She described simple, practical services of this kind as particularly suitable for development with AI tools.

Ruotsalainen said services involving safety or business are a different matter, because it is essential to prevent errors or serious malfunctions. Small applications built by individuals can make everyday life easier without involving critical matters such as personal data, she said.

Although AI tools have made it easier to build a relatively simple map website, Ruotsalainen said understanding programming and its underlying principles remains extremely important. In fact, she said, that understanding is becoming even more important in the age of AI.

Generative AI can carry out only a small part of programming, Ruotsalainen said. She compared it to someone who wants to write but knows only the words and grammar of a language: to write about something, the person must also understand the subject itself.