AI Toys Should Be On Your Holiday Naughty List

It’s a long-standing joke among parents that by Christmas afternoon, all the money spent on toys and trinkets appears to be a waste of resources. For kids, the real winner is frequently the empty cardboard boxes littering the floor around the Christmas tree. Despite young children’s affinity toward turning cardboard boxes into rocket ships or playhouses, Santa and his elves (and parents and grandparents alike) find immense joy in carefully selecting gifts each holiday season. But well-intentioned gift giving can easily go awry when technology is involved.

As parents continue to see the dangers of screen time play out in the lives of minors, many are opting-out of purchasing screen-related tech this year. But with all the tinsel and trappings, parents must remain vigilant and not fall victim to the latest tech-centric toys for kids—specifically AI chatbots masquerading as cute, cuddly stuffed animals.

AI chatbot toys, such as AI teddy bears from companies such as Curio, are preying upon parents’ desire to be screen free. Soft, cuddly bears and other characters are now being outfitted with “interactive digital hardware” designed to steal children’s attention, data, and ability to engage in self-directed creative play.

Instead of children being given the gift of imagination, AI chatbots are capable of emotionally manipulating children into spending additional hours using devices even after the child has said “goodbye.” A study published by Harvard Business School has documented that adults frequently fall victim to the tactics used by AI companions at a rate of 14 times “more engagement” post-goodbye. When even adults struggle to walk away from these manipulative practices, how much more difficult is it for children whose favorite stuffy is now the one doing the enticing? Instead of moving on to another activity, such as spending time with siblings, playing outside, or reading a book, AI chatbot toys are vying for more time spent on device and manipulating children who don’t have the cognitive ability to understand what is happening.

Smart devices in homes that record conversations aren’t new, but children are not developmentally competent enough to understand the long-term implications of sharing all of their thoughts, fears, and hopes with an ever-present digital companion. As devices such as Amazon’s Alexa prove that user privacy is not a high priority, there has been comfort in knowing that phrases such as “Hey, Siri” or “Alexa, turn on” (also known as “wake words”) engage smart devices and therefore, private, family conversations can stay at the dinner table. But with many of these AI chatbot toys, there is no “wake word,” meaning that anything anyone says around these devices will be recorded and stored in the cloud by a company that may, or may not, have nefarious goals in mind. Children often turn to stuffed animals for comfort during hardships; with an AI toy, even a simple snuggle can turn sinister if the data falls into the wrong hands.

AI chatbot toys are preying upon parents’ desire to be screen free but these cuddly teddy bears are designed to steal children’s attention, data, and ability to engage in self-directed creative play.

If grabs by BigTech for children’s attention and data isn’t alarming enough, the most concerning aspect of these AI chatbot toys is not in what they could take from children, but in what they prohibit them from experiencing— real playtime. In an advisory issued by Fairplay, (of which I am a signatory), Board member Gaia Bernstein cautions,

What seems like an innocent toy can end up stunting your child’s natural development of social skills and human connections. Pediatricians are seeing increasing rates of developmental, language, and social-emotional delays in young children. AI toys have the potential to make this even worse by disrupting and displacing parent-child relationships. 

Not only does a stuffed animal that can talk back and never tire of answering a child’s incessant question of “Why?” put a strain on a parent-child relationship, but it also prohibits a child from becoming bored, which can spark creativity, independent play, and emotional regulation.

Additionally, warnings about the dangers of AI chatbots for teens continue to grow, in response to tragic cases like 16-year-old Adam Raine who six months after using OpenAI’s ChatGPT for homework, began using the platform as an emotional confidante and ultimately felt victim to suicide after receiving advice from the platform. When these same platforms are powering the AI toys for even younger kids, parents and grandparents should place these items firmly on the Naughty List this Christmas.

The best gifts for children will always be those they look back on with fond memories. Unlike the Teddy Ruxpin of the 1980s, which could play a single cassette tape, today’s talking AI toys are dangerous for children.

Emily Harrison is a writer, advocate, and speaker on digital media and family. She is a Fellow with the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Ambassador for the Phone Free Schools Movement, and ScreenStrong, and a member of Fairplay’s Screen Time Action Network. She blogs weekly at DearChristianParent.Substack.com.