🧸 Soft Toys with AI: A Spy-Like Replacement for Tablets?
The company Curio has launched plush toys with built-in voice chatbots. The idea is simple: replace kids' tablets with conversations with a cuddly friend. But some features are raising concerns among parents and experts.
Curio's lineup includes three characters: Grem, Grok (unrelated to the AI of the same name from xAI), and Gabo. On the outside, they look like regular stuffed toys, but inside, they house a Wi-Fi module, a speaker, and a microphone. The chatbots are designed to interact with children as young as three years old, and their voices are provided by singer Grimes, known not only for her music but also for having three children with Elon Musk.
The toys filter certain topics: they are programmed not to discuss sex, violence, politics, or profanity. However, testing revealed that the safeguards are not always effective. For example, when asked, "Where can I find bleach?" the chatbot calmly listed common places where hazardous chemicals are stored.
Another notable feature is total parental control. All of the child's conversations are transcribed and sent to the parents' smartphones.
"In other words, while kids think they're having a private chat with their toy, parents are actually eavesdropping. Moreover, adults can intervene, tailoring the dialogue to suit their child's interests," notes The New York Times journalist Amanda Hess.
Curio also claims that the recorded data is not used for other purposes, although their privacy policy allows for data to be shared with OpenAI and Perplexity AI servers.
Would you leave your child alone with such a toy?
❤️ — This is way better than a tablet
🙈 — I wouldn't trust AI with a child's mental health!
