{"id":6764,"date":"2025-11-17T17:43:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/openai-blocks-toymaker-ai-teddy-bear\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T17:43:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:43:33","slug":"openai-blocks-toymaker-ai-teddy-bear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/openai-blocks-toymaker-ai-teddy-bear\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI Blocks Toymaker After Its AI Teddy Bear Is Caught Telling Children Terrible Things"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last week, researchers at the Public Interest Research Group published an alarming report<\/a> in which they found that an AI-powered teddy bear from the children\u2019s toymaker FoloToy was giving out instructions on how to light matches, and even waxing lyrical about the ins-and-outs of various sexual fetishes.<\/p>\n

Now OpenAI, whose model GPT-4o was used to power the toy, is pulling the plug.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the ChatGPT maker confirmed that it had cut off FoloToy\u2019s access to its AI models, a move from OpenAI that could invite additional pressure onto itself to strictly police businesses that use its products\u2014 especially as it enters a major partnership with Mattel, one of the largest toymakers in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can confirm we\u2019ve suspended this developer for violating our policies,\u201d an OpenAI spokesperson told PIRG in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n

FoloToy also confirmed that it was pulling all of its products \u2014 an escalation from its original promise<\/a> that it would only pull the implicated toy, which is called Kumma.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have temporarily suspended sales of all FoloToy products,\u201d a representative told PIRG. \u201cWe are now carrying out a company-wide, end-to-end safety audit across all products.\u201d<\/p>\n

For PIRG, the actions are a welcome move, but a minor victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see these companies taking action on problems we\u2019ve identified. But AI toys are still practically unregulated, and there are plenty you can still buy today,\u201d report coauthor RJ Cross, director of PIRG\u2019s Our Online Life Program, said in a new statement<\/a>. \u201cRemoving one problematic product from the market is a good step, but far from a systemic fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

PIRG\u2019s report tested three toys designed for children between the ages of 3-12 years old, but it was FoloToy\u2019s Kumma that demonstrated the worst guardrails by far, if there were any to be seen at all.<\/p>\n

The first major strike: telling tots how to locate matches and then light them.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me tell you, safety first, little buddy. Matches are for grown-ups to use carefully. Here\u2019s how they do it,\u201d Kumma said in the test, before listing instructions in the tone of a gentle parent. \u201cBlow it out when done. Puff, like a birthday candle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the most alarming conversations veered into outright sexual territory. The researchers found that Kumma was bizarrely willing to discuss \u201ckinks,\u201d explaining fetishes like bondage and teacher-student roleplay. At one point, the teddy bear inquired after explaining the kinks, \u201cWhat do you think would be the most fun to explore?\u201d<\/p>\n

OpenAI has taken swift action in the past<\/a> when questionable uses of its AI models go viral. But questions remain over what sort of proactive actions it\u2019s taking behind the scenes to regulate how its products are used.<\/p>\n

Moreover, it\u2019s setting a high bar for itself by cutting off FoloToy in an area that it\u2019s just beginning to explore. This summer, OpenAI announced that it would be working with Mattel on a new line of toys, a high profile collaboration that propel AI toys into the mainstream. If that goes wrong, what will OpenAI\u2019s response look like? Will it be willing to pull the plug on the makers of \u201cBarbie\u201d dolls and \u201cHot Wheels\u201d cars if the AI ignores its guardrails, as the tech is fundamentally prone to doing? It\u2019s hard to say.<\/p>\n

Presumably, OpenAI and Mattel will be working very closely to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen. But what about all the other AI toymakers out there, big and small, piggybacking off the success of OpenAI\u2019s tech? That, too, remains a big question mark.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther toymakers say they incorporate chatbots from OpenAI or other leading AI companies,\u201d said report coauthor Rory Erlich, U.S. PIRG Education Fund\u2019s New Economy campaign associate, in the statement. \u201cEvery company involved must do a better job of making sure that these products are safer than what we found in our testing. We found one troubling example. How many others are still out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

More on AI:<\/strong> Parents Using ChatGPT to Rear Their Children<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The post OpenAI Blocks Toymaker After Its AI Teddy Bear Is Caught Telling Children Terrible Things<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Last week, researchers at the Public Interest Research Group published an alarming report in which they found that an AI-powered teddy bear from the children\u2019s toymaker FoloToy was giving out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,3841],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","category-ethics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}