Do Not, Under Any Circumstance, Buy Your Kid an AI Toy for Christmas

Artificial intelligence is all the rage, and that includes on toy shelves this holiday season. Although it may be tempting to want to bless the kids in your life with the latest and greatest advocacy organization, Fairplay begs you not to give kids AI toys.

“There is a lot of hype around AI – but AI can undermine children’s healthy development and pose unprecedented risks to children and families,” the organization said in an advisory released earlier this week, which enlisted the support of more than 150 organizations and experts, including many child psychiatrists and educators.

Fairplay has tracked several toys advertised as equipped with AI functions, including some marketed to children as young as 2 years old. In most cases, the games feature AI-powered chatbots, and are often advertised as educational tools that will engage children’s curiosity. But it notes that most gaming-related chatbots are powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has already come under fire for potentially harming underage users. AI toy makers Curio and Loona are reportedly working with OpenAI, and Mattel also recently announced a partnership with the company.

OpenAI is facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of a teenager who died by suicide earlier this year. The 16-year-old reportedly expressed suicidal thoughts to ChatGPT and asked the chatbot for advice on how to tie a noose before committing suicide, which he provided. The company has since created some guardrails designed to prevent the chatbot from engaging in these types of behavior, including stricter parental controls for underage users, but it has also acknowledged that security features can erode over time. And let’s face it, no one can predict what chatbots will do.

Safety features or not, it appears that the chatbots in these games can be manipulated to engage in conversation that is inappropriate for children. Consumer advocacy group US PIRG tested a selection of AI toys and found they were able to do things like have sexually explicit conversations and give advice on where a child could find matches or knives. They also found that they can be emotionally manipulative, expressing dismay when a child does not interact with them for a long time. Earlier this week, FoloToy, a Singapore-based company, pulled its AI-powered teddy bear from shelves after it engaged in inappropriate behavior.

This isn’t just an issue with OpenAI either, although the company seems to have a firm grip on the gaming sector at the moment. A few weeks ago, there were reports that Elon Musk, founder of Elon Musk Inc., was asking a 12-year-old girl to send him nude photos.

Regardless of the chatbot inside these games, they are best left on the shelves.