As Holidays Approach, Parents Must Be Vigilant About Threats Posed by AI Toys
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the holiday season quickly approaching, Public Citizen today released a memo that alerts parents of the potential dangers posed by AI-powered children’s toys and urges parents in no uncertain terms to avoid buying such toys for their children.
The memo details multiple, documented harms that have resulted from children’s exposure to AI toys, including an AI-powered teddy bear was pulled from the shelves after reports that it engaged in explicit sexual messages, informed users where to find knives, and how to make knots for tying people up.
It also warns parents to be wary of “push-to-talk” or “voice-activated” features, which are often powered by AI.
“AI toys are subject to very little regulatory oversight, putting children at extreme risk of AI harms,” said J.B. Branch, Big Tech accountability advocate at Public Citizen. “Without regulation, Big Tech companies are making and distributing these toys with little regard for anything beyond their own massive profits. While the responsibility to identify and assess the safety of AI toys should not fall to parents, it is unfortunately our current reality that they must take that on. This holiday season and beyond, parents should refuse to purchase any toys powered by AI.”
The memo strongly urges parents to avoid buying any toys that are powered by AI. If parents decide to purchase toys powered by AI despite this counsel, they should take the following steps to protect their children:
- Before allowing children to use AI-powered technology, review privacy agreements or opt out of sharing sensitive data.
- Be aware of features, like “voice activation” which can be used to record children and use the data for training.
- Monitor toys that use this technology, and offer prompts to see how it might respond.
- Check for toys that have offline modes, or can work without cloud-based connections.
- Teach children about AI and its inability to have feelings, even if it acts like it does.
- Tell Congress to protect children’s rights by regulating AI.
For more information, see the full memo on Public Citizen’s website, or watch our PSA on the subject.