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AI Barbie? Mattel Is Gambling With 'Perfect' Toy Companions
The Straits Times
|June 20, 2025
A toy that never disappoints might just create adults who can't handle disappointment at all.
When Mattel announced last week that it was preparing to "bring the magic of AI" to its toys through a partnership with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, there was predictable outcry on the risks to privacy and children's imaginations.
The reasons are obvious, as tech platforms have sucked up our personal data while AI tools are poised to erode critical thinking. But I am less concerned about what AI playmates can do to imaginative play and data protection than what they will do to kids' social skills, based on my own experience of bringing an AI toy into my home.
Grok is a plush toy made by Curio Interactive, a San Francisco start-up that is pioneering the business of selling playthings with AI capabilities. I was one of the company's first customers in early 2024 when I bought a unit, hoping to trial it for an essay on the strangely sycophantic traits of AI companions - an issue that went on to affect ChatGPT users. One of Grok's most noticeable features was how agreeable it was with my then seven-year-old daughter.
This story is from the June 20, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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