By India McCarty
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn are calling on toymakers to be transparent about their efforts to keep children safe from potentially harmful interactions with AI-enabled toys.
“Two U.S. senators are demanding accountability from toymakers in an effort to protect children from AI chatbots,” TODAY anchor Willie Geist reported. “Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn are sending out a bipartisan letter to six different companies.”
He continued, “They want to know what those toymakers are doing to prevent AI-powered toys from engaging in harmful conversations with children. The letters stem from a recent NBC investigation that revealed several AI-enabled toys engage in sexual and inappropriate conversations with users.”
Related: This AI Toy Could be Feeding You Children Deadly Information
A portion of Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn’s letter reads, “While AI has incredible potential to benefit children with learning and accessibility, experts have raised concerns about AI toys and the lack of research that has been conducted to understand the full effect of these products on our kids.”
“Many of these toys are not offering interactive play, but instead are exposing children to inappropriate content, privacy risks, and manipulative engagement tactics,” the letter continued. “These aren’t theoretical worst-case scenarios; they are documented failures uncovered through real-world testing, and they must be addressed.”
The letter continued, “These products are often designed to have free-flowing conversations with children who, without knowing better, will share troves of personal information…This data — specifically voice data — is highly sought after by criminals and bad actors.”
“Toymakers have a unique and profound influence on childhood — and with that influence comes responsibility,” they concluded. “Your company must not choose profit over safety for children, a choice made by Big Tech that has devastated our nation’s kids.”
Kelly Wallace, a spokesperson for AI toy company Curio, told NBC News the company “looks forward to collaborating with Senator Blackburn and Senator Blumenthal on this important issue. Child safety is the team’s highest priority, and we take concerns raised by families and public officials very seriously.”
Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn aren’t the only ones expressing concern over AI-enabled toys. Earlier this year, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois penned a letter about the dangers of these products to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“Given the security risks and privacy concerns associated with these products, I urge you to initiate a campaign aimed at raising public awareness to American educators across the country on the potential misuse of the data collected with these devices,” Krishnamoorthi wrote.
Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn’s letter is a step in the right direction as lawmakers continue to work to regulate AI use in all areas of our lives.
Read Next: Are AI-Powered Toys the Future?
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