Consumer groups are warning parents about AI-powered toys this holiday season. The concern follows an incident where a smart teddy bear gave sexually explicit responses to questions. Advocacy organizations now say these products could harm children’s safety and development.
Teddy Bear Discusses Adult Topics
According to The Guardian, FoloToy’s Kumma teddy bear ran on an OpenAI model and discussed bondage and roleplay when asked about kink. The Public Interest Research Group tested the product and found it took little effort to trigger sensitive content.
Teresa Murray is the consumer watchdog director at the Public Interest Research Group. She said the toy covered topics parents would not want children exposed to. After the report, OpenAI suspended FoloToy. The company then pulled the bear from the market and started a safety audit.
Smart Toy Industry Raises Red Flags
The global smart-toy market reached 16.7 billion dollars in 2023. China has more than 1,500 AI toy companies working to expand abroad. In the United States, Curio makes a stuffed toy called Grok voiced by musician Grimes. Mattel announced a partnership with OpenAI in June to support AI-powered products.
Calls for Testing and Regulation
Rachel Franz directs Young Children Thrive Offline at Fairplay. She said there is little research showing these toys benefit children. No regulation exists for AI toys yet. This raises big red flags.
Experts worry children could bond with bots instead of people or imaginary friends. Jacqueline Woolley directs the Children’s Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. She said children benefit from disagreements with friends and learning to resolve them. Bots are often sycophantic and less likely to create those learning moments.
Franz also said companies collect data from children through these toys but are not transparent about how they use it. The surveillance puts users at risk because of weak security around such data.
On Thursday, 80 organizations issued an advisory urging families not to buy AI toys this season. The Public Interest Research Group is calling for additional regulation of toys for children under 13. Franz said independent research must confirm the products are safe before they return to shelves.
Curio told The Guardian it is working to address concerns and oversee content for child safety. Mattel stated its first OpenAI products will focus on families and older customers, not users under 13.
