Professor Jenny Gibson

The difference between a toy that's got an embedded generative AI functionality compared to kind of traditional toys that might be able to generate some pre-programmed speech is that these toys can engage in back and forth conversation with you.

So rather than just having a set repertoire of phrases that the toy can say,

the toy can actually talk back and kind of engage in those sort of back and forth of chats with children.

It gives the toy the capability to tune into children's interests, for example.

So, you know, if you're interested in trains or pets or whatever, the toy could pick up on that and talk about the things that are of interest to a particular child.

There are concerns around children's privacy.

So when you're talking to any kind of chatbot, what's happening is that your speech has been sent over to a computer somewhere in the cloud and that's used to process the response.

So what's happening to children's speech and children's data?

For me, there are also concerns about who might have access to these toys.

So there are also safeguarding considerations as well.

I think I'm cautiously optimistic about this while also wanting to protect children.

So the research that we've been doing has been looking at products designed and marketed for children under five.

And for under fives, it's this really developmentally sensitive period where those back and forth interactions and that human connection is actually driving learning and development.

And I think a big developmental concern is whether a generative AI toy

might be seen as kind of disrupting that process because typically that back and forth happens between humans.

So we don't really know what it means for it to happen with a machine.

On the other hand, I think more optimistically, a lot of concern around technology-based toys is that kind of passive engagement.

And I think generative AI brings a new possibility for that back and forth that we know is really helpful.

So I think when it's designed with children's developmental needs in mind, there could be some positives as well as some risks.