{"id":195425,"date":"2026-03-13T03:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T07:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/ai-toys-for-young-children-must-be-more-tightly-regulated-say-researchers-ai-artificial-intelligence\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T04:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:50:12","slug":"ai-toys-for-young-children-must-be-more-tightly-regulated-say-researchers-ai-artificial-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/ai-toys-for-young-children-must-be-more-tightly-regulated-say-researchers-ai-artificial-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"AI toys for young children must be more tightly regulated, say researchers | AI (artificial intelligence)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2026\/mar\/13\/ai-toys-young-children-tigher-regulations-reseachers\">AI toys for young children must be more tightly regulated, say researchers | AI (artificial intelligence)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2026\/mar\/13\/ai-toys-young-children-tigher-regulations-reseachers\">https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2026\/mar\/13\/ai-toys-young-children-tigher-regulations-reseachers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Publish Date: <a href=\"publish_date]\">2026-03-13 03:37:00<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source Domain: <a href=\"www.theguardian.com\">www.theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>University of Cambridge study<\/strong>: Conducted on the interaction between AI-powered toys and young children, highlighting their struggle with social and pretend play and the potential issues arising from misunderstanding children or reacting inappropriately to emotions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Toy example<\/strong>: Gabbo, an AI soft toy, fails to respond appropriately when a five-year-old child declared, \u201cGabbo, I love you,\u201d suggesting a need for better regulation in the context of emotional affirmation. <\/li>\n<li><strong>Call for regulation<\/strong>: Developmental psychologists advocate for tighter regulation of AI toys interacting with young children to ensure psychological safety and the proper limits on expressing friendship or personal connection.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Developmental concerns<\/strong>: Early years practitioners express significant fear and uncertainty regarding the implications of AI toys on children\u2019s imaginative play and data privacy, emphasizing a potential erosion of imaginative skills.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Findings on social and imaginative misunderstandings<\/strong>: The study revealed frequent issues in toys\u2019 ability to follow-up on pretend play scenarios and recognize such interactions, raising further concerns about their use.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Response from tech company<\/strong>: Curio, the company behind Gabbo, affirms their commitment to child safety and welcomes research to improve the development of these toys, acknowledging areas of limitation needing future improvements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI toys for young children must be more tightly regulated, say researchers | AI 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