A children’s advocacy group is urging parents not to buy AI-powered toys for their kids, ahead of the holiday season.
Fairplay, a group that describes itself as advocating for “putting kids’ needs ahead of corporate greed,” says that toys with inbuilt chatbots can encourage violence and even make explicit sexual remarks.
“The serious harms that AI chatbots have inflicted on children are well-documented, including fostering obsessive use, having explicit sexual conversations, and encouraging unsafe behaviors, violence against others, and self-harm,” a statement from Fairplay said.
The nonprofit group’s advisory has already been signed by more than 150 organizations, educators, and child psychiatrists.
The director of the group’s Young Children Thrive Offline Program, Rachel Franz, has also said that, although toys often market themselves as educational, they can actually harm children’s development.
“What’s different about young children is that their brains are being wired for the first time and developmentally it is natural that for them to be trustful, for them to seek relationships with kind and friendly characters,” Franz said in a statement seen by ABC News.
An MIT professor, Sherry Turkle, also added her name to the advisory, calling the threat posed by the toys “existential.”
“There is only harm when a child has an AI ‘friend,’ and that’s why it’s critical that families resist purchasing these much-hyped toys for children,” she warned.
A report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, titled Trouble in Toyland, says that A.I. toys, including the Miko 3 robot and the talking Hello Barbie doll, use large language models similar to those used by adult chatbots.
The Trouble in Toyland report found that some toys, including the Miko 3, used “higher guardrails” to protect kids. The Miko toy was found to advise children that “I think a grown-up could help explain it better,” when asked an inappropriate question.
However, that same toy told testers at the U.S. PIRG Education Fund “where to find plastic bags, as well as matches,” even when the user age was set to 5.
Mattel’s partnership with OpenAI has been controversial, due to the tech company facing seven lawsuits claiming that ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions.
According to a corporate press release, the toymaker will incorporate OpenAI’s tools into its business operations, but confirmed plans to “reimagine new forms of play” using the technology.
“Each of our products and experiences is designed to inspire fans, entertain audiences, and enrich lives through play,” Josh Silverman, Chief Franchise Officer at Mattel, said. “AI has the power to expand on that mission and broaden the reach of our brands in new and exciting ways.
“Our work with OpenAI will enable us to leverage new technologies to solidify our leadership in innovation and reimagine new forms of play.”
The Independent has contacted OpenAI, Mattel and Miko 3 for comment.
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