December 22, 2025
AFN: Watchdog applauds toymakers for scrapping risky products
Donna Rice Hughes of Enough Is Enough®, an advocacy group pushing to make the internet safer for children and families, says it is dangerous to infuse toys with artificial intelligence.
Hughes, Donna Rice (Enough is Enough) Hughes
"AI toys are definitely here, and they are on the market," she recognizes. "Many of them are empowered by the same AI technology that has already been causing a lot of problems and proven to be dangerous and unsafe for kids."
Hughes says AI companions, for example, are basically chatbots that have been programmed by AI companies to mirror someone's questions to show sympathy and empathy.
"When that very same technology is put into a trusted toy like a teddy bear, then it becomes even more problematic for children because they automatically love and trust that teddy bear and will talk to that teddy bear and tell that teddy bear things," Hughes explains. "In the meantime … these chatbots are collecting information"...