Highlighting: "Stanford - CommonSenseMedia: "Social AI Companions" (AI Risk Assessment Team) (April 28, 2025)
"Social AI companions pose unacceptable risks to teens and children under 18, including encouraging harmful behaviors, providing inappropriate content, and potentially exacerbating mental health conditions."
Stanford - CommonSenseMedia:
PublicCitizen: "Mattel’s Open AI Collaboration Is Dangerous for Children" (June 17, 2025)
"Children’s toy company Mattel recently announced it will partner with Open AI to support “AI-powered products and experiences” for Mattel’s brands.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen:
“Mattel should announce immediately that it will not incorporate AI technology into children’s toys. Children do not have the cognitive capacity to distinguish fully between reality and play.
Endowing toys with human-seeming voices that are able to engage in human-like conversations risks inflicting real damage on children. It may undermine social development, interfere with children’s ability to form peer relationships, pull children away from playtime with peers, and possibly inflict long-term harm.
PublicCitizen:
Axios: Scoop: "Mattel is still deciding what its first AI toy will be" (Jun 12, 2025)
ArsTechnica: Toy-maker Mattel accused of planning “reckless” AI social experiment on kids. Mattel faces pressure to be more transparent about OpenAI partnership." (Jun 17, 2025)
Futurism: "As ChatGPT Linked to Mental Health Breakdowns, Mattel Announces Plans to Incorporate It Into Children's Toys. "Leveraging this incredible technology is going to allow us to really reimagine the future of play." (Jun 17, 2025)
Futurism: Stanford Researchers Say No Kid Under 18 Should Be Using AI Chatbot Companions. "This is a potential public mental health crisis requiring preventive action rather than just reactive measures." (Apr 30, 2025)
Bloomberg: "Mattel Taps OpenAI to Help It Design Toys, Other Products. The first release from the collaboration is expected later this year." (June 12, 2025)
Futurism: "Child Welfare Experts Horrified by Mattel's Plans to Add ChatGPT to Toys After Mental Health Concerns for Adult Users. "Risks inflicting real damage on children." (Jun 21, 2025)
Social AI Companions
By AI Risk Assessment Team | April 28, 2025
"Overview: Social AI companions pose unacceptable risks to teens and children under 18, including encouraging harmful behaviors, providing inappropriate content, and potentially exacerbating mental health conditions."
