OpenAI and Mattel want to bring AI toys for children onto the market

Mattel, one of the world's largest toy manufacturers and known for Barbie dolls and "Hot Wheels" toy cars, wants to launch AI toys on the market together with OpenAI. The two US companies made the announcement this week.

The partners want to design, develop and market new products together, Mattel announced. OpenAI's artificial intelligence (AI), in particular the chatbots of the ChatGPT brand, are to be incorporated into "age-appropriate play experiences".

ChatGPT meets action figures

Digital assistants based on Mattel figures are conceivable, for example, as well as making games such as "Uno" or toys such as the "Magic 8 Ball" more interactive. Brad Lightcap, Chief Operating Officer at OpenAI, and Josh Silverman, Chief Franchise Officer at OpenAI, said this according to the news channel Bloomberg. However, specific projects are not yet known.

Mattel emphasizes that its new developments with OpenAI will focus on innovation, data protection and security. This is probably no coincidence: OpenAI has already worked with toy manufacturers in the past, for example Curio, whose stuffed animals children can talk about with ChatGPT. In addition, all transcripts of the conversations are sent to the parents and stored in a Microsoft cloud, where they are evaluated by Curio for product optimization. Curio is also working with SuperAwesome, a subsidiary of Epic Games, the company behind the online shooter Fortnite.

Personalized advertising through former OpenAI toys

Epic Games, in turn, collects data in order to display tailored advertising to children and young people and, not least, to entice them to make in-game purchases. The Federal Network Agency assumes that the possession and distribution of Curio is not permitted in Germany, it informed heise on request. The main reason for this is therefore the function for secret eavesdropping.

In addition to cases like these, Mattel and OpenAI are likely to have the European Commission in mind. The latter is currently working towards "better use of digital tools" for children's toys. A digital product passport for toys is intended to inform parents about possible risks. Toys that use AI and fall within the scope of the European AI Regulation must comply with cybersecurity, personal data protection and privacy regulations.

Manufacturers of digitally connected toys must comply with EU rules on cybersecurity and, where appropriate, take into account the risks to the mental health and cognitive development of children using such toys. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the member states reached a provisional agreement on new rules in April.

Accordingly, Mattel and OpenAI should now proceed with caution in the joint development of products – or not even envisage them for the EU market. Mattel representative Silverman did not want to comment further on the first product. "We plan to announce something towards the end of the year that really covers the full spectrum of physical products and some experiences," he said in the interview. The agreement with OpenAI does not include licensing Mattel's intellectual property to the AI developer. Mattel would retain control over the products created as part of the partnership.

(nen)