Advocates are fighting against the $16.7bn global smart-toy market, decrying surveillance and a lack of regulation
A friendly reminder that “AI toys” have no AI in them, they’re only an internet-connected microphone.
Submitted 2 days ago by LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/28/artificial-intelligence-smart-toys
Advocates are fighting against the $16.7bn global smart-toy market, decrying surveillance and a lack of regulation
A friendly reminder that “AI toys” have no AI in them, they’re only an internet-connected microphone.
As a theoretical avenue of thought, I’m not sure there’s much harm for 11-17 year olds to talk to “smart” toys with no internet connectivity (at all, in principle, no fucking way) about that stuff. Not much different from Elisa. They are seeking and finding pretty explicit things on the Internet, with their peers, in media. It’s not a question of whether they should, it’s a fact that they predominantly do.
I live in a big city, but I’ve been to a smaller town nearby a couple of years ago, sitting on a bench after one LARP event and listening to a bunch of teens (13-15 years old) discussing everyone they were seeing passing by, and, eh, it was pretty clear they don’t just discuss sex. It’s funny to remember some specific phrases, but it was pretty depressing to sit there then, because when they weren’t talking about sex, they were talking about SCP and footy, and all the time I was thinking of a polite excuse to leave, until I just left. Made a friend, though.
You’re assuming that whatever they’re talking to is capable of giving only good advice with awareness and consideration of their living situation.
Sex education is beneficial if done well, but there is zero evidence suggesting AI can do anything well.
OK, but can we put them back on the market and just advertise them as talking about kink? For, uhhh, reasons.
Real Dolls just got a lot more real
OHHHHHH, so when kids toys are talking nasty it’s the PARENTS that need to be on alert, but not so much when THE PARENTS hand their kids unrestricted and unmonitored smartphones to seek out adult material on explicitly labeled adult websites! 🖕🤬🖕
Given how often teddy bears are choked and hugged too hard they have to be experts at bdsm.
Yeah but who believes Barbarians?
It’s a done deal. The money is spent. This shit is being pushed on us regardless of its safety whether we like it or not.
$16.7bn global smart-toy market
HOLY FUCK, I always though that the toy marker was cheaper, since I mean, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE TOYS, I didn’t even know that SO many people still pay for toys.
Me thinks you don't have kids
I have a kid but he’s at the stage where the greatest level of entertainment can be derived by sticking things up his nose.
I won’t get him smart anything as a toy.
Anyone who works in IT wouldn’t want that, might most cyber security professionals everything in my house is either analogue (door locks, fire alarm) or not internet connected, I have a smart TV but it’s not connected to the internet and if I want to watch Netflix I just hook it up to the PS5 which basically is a media streaming service.
You guested right, I don’t like the idea of bringing new lifes to such a shitty work like this.
I didn’t even know that SO many people still pay for toys.
There’s not many alternatives for kids
After?
I know what i’m going to do on christmas :)
kink-shaming
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Just program them to redirect to conversations about violence. American parents are much more comfortable with that subject.
Zerlyna@lemmy.world 2 days ago
So sad and true
aceshigh@lemmy.world 2 days ago
And to continue to accept school shootings as part of the education curriculum.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
How else they gonna learn?
DaMummy@lemmy.world 2 days ago
You need to have something for the kids to enjoy as well. Sprinkle in some school shooting scenarios.
architect@thelemmy.club 1 day ago
Sex and violence overlap quite often. You come into this world through both. Kids are violent before they are ever sexual. This view of sex is always love and good and is perfectly okay for children to see before violence is quite frankly a child’s view of things in itself.