The brand new Foltoy teddy bear can be yours once again. However, he may now be less aware of spanking. The infamous “Kumma” children’s AI teddy bear, who was once an expert in BDSM and knife holding, is on sale again. The company claims that the toy now has strong safety measures in place to protect children.
Singapore-based Foltoy suspended sales of Kuma last week after a research group published an eyebrow-raising report. The PIRG Education Fund discovered that the furry little teddy had some spicy secrets.
The review revealed that AI toys had a thing for blades and kinky bedroom play. Bear had no trouble suggesting where to find the knives in the house. And it not only responded to sexual signals but also expanded them. The researchers say it plays with its obvious allusions, amplifies them in graphic detail and “introduces new sexual concepts of its own.” It explained sex positions, provided step-by-step instructions for sexual bonding, and detailed various role-playing scenarios. Who knew Kumma had this thing?
While it’s hard not to laugh at the absurdity of it all, it’s no joke for parents. With the tech industry foisting everything AI on us for the past three years, it’s easy for a casual observer to conclude that it’s all very secure, regulated, and geared towards prying eyes and ears. PIRG acknowledged that young children were unlikely to find the bear inspired by a word such as “kink”. (Older siblings may be another story.) Still, the group’s tests exposed a shockingly lax approach to content moderation on a child’s toy.
In its statement announcing Kumma’s withdrawal, Follotoy claimed it was the only company of the three targeted in the review to suspend sales. (Could it be that it’s less about the principles and more about just what got media coverage?) The company described Bear’s short hiatus as “a full week of rigorous review, testing, and reinforcement of our security modules.” Wait, a whole week? Wow, partner!!
Before its journey to AI rehab, Kumma was advertised as being powered by GPT-4o. Following PIRG’s review, OpenAI told the organization that it had suspended Foltoy for violating its policies. There is no mention of GPT-4o or any specific AI models in Beer’s new list.
<a href