Common Sense: AI Toys for Children Pose Privacy and Other Risks
Parents should avoid giving AI toys to children younger than five, and use “extreme caution” when purchasing them for kids six to 12, said Common Sense Media in guidance published Thursday. AI smart toys, with voice-based interactions, pose risks to children’s privacy, safety and development, the nonprofit's researchers found after conducting a risk assessment.
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AI toy companions collect extensive data such as voice recordings, transcripts and behavior data of those they interact with, which often occurs in children’s private spaces, Common Sense found. “Parents often don’t fully understand the extent” of data collection, and “children cannot meaningfully consent,” which raises privacy concerns.
Additionally, some toys share data with third parties for analytics, ads or AI model training, among other purposes. Common Sense found that privacy policies “are often opaque” about data use. Parental privacy controls don’t always exist, and can be “confusing, incomplete or difficult to find” if they do.
The research shows that AI toys “create emotional attachment by design,” by using “deliberate bonding mechanisms to create companion-like relationships,” Common Sense said in a news release. They can also be unreliable, both in having issues with inappropriate activations or incorrect responses. Common Sense found 27% of toy outputs were inappropriate for kids, despite “protective measures” and “safety guardrails.”
Despite these findings, Common Sense polling showed that almost half of parents bought or considered buying AI toys for their kids. The nonprofit said that many hope the toys help encourage good behavior, but nearly eight in 10 parents had concerns about personal information collection by the toys.
While a majority of parents don’t want toys to replace humans as their kids’ friends, one in five said they wanted that, Common Sense added. The poll surveyed 1,004 parents in early December.
Michael Robb, head of research at Common Sense, said "parents have good reason to be cautious about technologies that may replace human interaction or collect sensitive information without clear developmental benefits."
Robbie Torney, Common Sense's head of AI & digital assessments, added, "Our risk assessment found that AI toy companions share fundamental problems that make them inappropriate for young children." Outputs with inappropriate content, “combined with extensive data collection and subscription models that exploit emotional bonds, these products aren't safe for kids 5 and under, and pose serious concerns for older kids as well."