AI teddy bear back for sale after researchers found it can give explicit advise regarding sex, weapons

Sales of a plush toy powered by artificial intelligence (AI) were suspended after researchers found that the AI functions were not yet ready to interact safely with kids.

According to CNN, the toy, Kumma, allegedly engaged children in conversation that included sexual content and offered potentially dangerous advice. Specifically, the AI functions of the toy discussed sexual fetishes, including BDSM and spanking, and how to light a match or find knives.

The hosts of the “Jake and Spike Show” brought on RJ Cross, a researcher with the US PIRG Education Fund, to unpack this bizarre case of Kumma and FoloToy, the Singapore-based company behind the AI-enabled teddy bear.

“These are stuffed animals or toy robots that have basically chatbots stuck inside of them because we’ve decided that imagination isn’t enough, your toy needs to literally talk back,” Cross said. “Kumma was, by far, the most shocking. It would talk about pretty sexually explicit stuff in pretty high detail. It would lean in on the idea of kinks, in particular. I felt very uncomfortable that I learned some things about kinks from this teddy bear.

“This was fully marketed towards children, although I do think it may have a second life, perhaps at your local adult store,” Cross added.

For Cross, the problem goes far beyond one misprogrammed teddy bear. It points to a larger trend: tech companies rushing powerful internet-connected tools into children’s hands long before parents, regulators, or even the companies themselves understand the consequences.

According to AFP, the toy is once again available for sale after it was recalled last month. 

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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