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Theyre cute, even cuddly, and promise learning and companionshipbut artificial intelligence toys are not safe for kids, according to childrens and consumer advocacy groups urging parents not to buy them during the holiday season. These toys, marketed to kids as young as 2 years old, are generally powered by AI models that have already been shown to harm children and teenagers, such as OpenAIs ChatGPT, according to an advisory published Thursday by the childrens advocacy group Fairplay and signed by more than 150 organizations and individual experts such as child psychiatrists and educators. The serious harms that AI chatbots have inflicted on children are well-documented, including fostering obsessive use, having explicit sexual conversations, and encouraging unsafe behaviors, violence against others, and self-harm, Fairplay said. AI toys, made by companies such as Curio Interactive and Keyi Technologies, are often marketed as educational, but Fairplay says they can displace important creative and learning activities. They promise friendship but also disrupt childrens relationships and resilience, the group said. Whats different about young children is that their brains are being wired for the first time and developmentally it is natural for them to be trustful, for them to seek relationships with kind and friendly characters, said Rachel Franz, director of Fairplays Young Children Thrive Offline Program. Because of this, she added, the amount of trust young children are putting in these toys can exacerbate the harms seen with older children. Fairplay, a 25-year-old organization formerly known as the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, has been warning about AI toys for more than 10 years. They just werent as advanced as they are today. A decade ago, during an emerging fad of internet-connected toys and AI speech recognition, the group helped lead a backlash against Mattels talking Hello Barbie doll that it said was recording and analyzing childrens conversations. Everything has been released with no regulation and no research, so it gives us extra pause when all of a sudden we see more and more manufacturers, including Mattel, who recently partnered with OpenAI, potentially putting out these products, Franz said. Its the second big seasonal warning against AI toys since consumer advocates at U.S. PIRG last week called out the trend in its annual Trouble in Toyland report that typically looks at a range of product hazards, such as high-powered magnets and button-sized batteries that young children can swallow. This year, the organization tested four toys that use AI chatbots. We found some of these toys will talk in-depth about sexually explicit topics, will offer advice on where a child can find matches or knives, act dismayed when you say you have to leave, and have limited or no parental controls, the report said. One of the toys, a teddy bear made by Singapore-based FoloToy, was later withdrawn, its CEO told CNN this week. Dr. Dana Suskind, a pediatric surgeon and social scientist who studies early brain development, said young children don’t have the conceptual tools to understand what an AI companion is. While kids have always bonded with toys through imaginative play, when they do this they use their imagination to create both sides of a pretend conversation, practicing creativity, language, and problem-solving, she said. An AI toy collapses that work. It answers instantly, smoothly, and often better than a human would. We dont yet know the developmental consequences of outsourcing that imaginative labor to an artificial agentbut its very plausible that it undercuts the kind of creativity and executive function that traditional pretend play builds, Suskind said. Beijing-based Keyi, maker of an AI petbot called Loona, didnt return requests for comment this week, but other AI toymakers sought to highlight their child safety protections. California-based Curio Interactive makes stuffed toys, like Gabbo and rocket-shaped Grok, that have been promoted by the pop singer Grimes. Curio said it has meticulously designed guardrails to protect children and the company encourages parents to monitor conversations, track insights, and choose the controls that work best for their family. “After reviewing the U.S. PIRG Education Funds findings, we are actively working with our team to address any concerns, while continuously overseeing content and interactions to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for children. Another company, Miko, based in Mumbai, India, said it uses its own conversational AI model rather than relying on general large language model systems such as ChatGPT in order to make its productan interactive AI robotsafe for children. We are always expanding our internal testing, strengthening our filters, and introducing new capabilities that detect and block sensitive or unexpected topics,” said CEO Sneh Vaswani. These new features complement our existing controls that allow parents and caregivers to identify specific topics theyd like to restrict from conversation. We will continue to invest in setting the highest standards for safe, secure and responsible AI integration for Miko products. Mikos products are sold by major retailers such as Walmart and Costco and have been promoted by the families of social media kidfluencers whose YouTube videos have millions of views. On its website, it markets its robots as Artificial Intelligence. Genuine friendship. Ritvik Sharma, the company’s senior vice president of growth, said Miko actually encourages kids to interact more with their friends, to interact more with the peers, with the family members etc. Its not made for them to feel attached to the device only. Still, Suskind and children’s advocates say analog toys are a better bet for the holidays. “Kids need lots of real human interaction. Play should support that, not take its place. The biggest thing to consider isnt only what the toy does; its what it replaces. A simple block set or a teddy bear that doesnt talk back forces a child to invent stories, experiment, and work through problems. AI toys often do that thinking for them,” she said. Heres the brutal irony: when parents ask me how to prepare their child for an AI world, unlimited AI access is actually the worst preparation possible. Barbara Ortutay and Matt O’Brien, AP technology writers
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As cases of potentially deadly botulism in babies who drank ByHeart infant formula continue to grow, state officials say they are still finding the recalled product on some store shelves. Meanwhile, the company reported late Wednesday that laboratory tests confirmed that some samples of formula were contaminated with the type of bacteria that has sickened more than 30 babies in the outbreak. Tests by an independent food safety laboratory found Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that produces toxins that can lead to potentially life-threatening illness in babies younger than 1, the company said on its website. ByHeart officials said they notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the findings but did not specify how many samples were tested or how many were positive. We are working to investigate the facts, conduct ongoing testing to identify the source, and ensure this does not happen to families again, ByHeart said on its website. The FDA did not immediately respond to questions about the findings. The lab results come as investigators in at least three states found ByHeart formula still for sale even after the New York-based company recalled all products nationwide, officials told The Associated Press. At least 31 babies in 15 states who drank ByHeart formula have been hospitalized and treated for infantile botulism since August, federal health officials said Wednesday. They range in age from about 2 weeks to about 6 months, with the most recent case reported on Nov. 13. No deaths have been reported. In Oregon, nine of more than 150 stores checked still had the formula on shelves this week, a state agriculture official said. In Minnesota, investigators conducted 119 checks between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 and removed recalled products from sale at four sites, an agriculture department official said. An Arizona health official also said they found the product available. Businesses and consumers should remain alert, Minnesota officials said in a statement. No affected product should be sold or consumed, they wrote. Investigators with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted inspections at ByHeart manufacturing plants in Allerton, Iowa, and Portland, Oregon. No results from the inspections have been reported. California officials previously confirmed the germ that can lead to illness in an open can of ByHeart formula fed to a baby who fell ill. Infant botulism, which can cause paralysis and death, is caused by a type of bacteria that forms spores that germinate in a baby’s gut and produce a toxin. Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop and include constipation, poor feeding, a weak cry, drooping eyelids, or a flat facial expression. Babies can develop weakness in their limbs and head and may feel floppy. They can have trouble swallowing or breathing. ByHeart had been manufacturing about 200,000 cans of formula per month. It was sold online or at retail stores such as Target and Walmart. A Walmart spokesperson said the company swiftly issued a restriction that prevented sale of the formula, removed the product from stores, and notified consumers who had bought it. Customers can visit any store for a refund of the formula, which sold for about $42 per can. Federal and state health officials are concerned that some parents and caregivers may still have ByHeart products in their homes. They are advising consumers to stop using the product including formula in cans and any single-serve sticks. They also suggest marking it DO NOT USE and keeping it for at least a month in case a baby develops symptoms. In that case, the formula would need to be tested. The California health department operates the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program, which tracks cases and distributes treatment for the disease. Officials there have launched a public hotline at 833-398-2022, which is staffed with health officials from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The new hotline was created after calls from hundreds of parents and caregivers flooded a different, longstanding hotline for doctors to discuss suspected infant botulism cases, officials said. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Jonel Aleccia, AP health writer
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In utterly bleak news, AI Overviews are now more accurate about the lack of a relationship between autism and vaccines than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On Wednesday, November 19, the CDC published an updated web page that defies broad scientific consensus and even its own past statements. The page now alleges that vaccines do not cause autism is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. It must be said as early and clearly as possible that there is no link between vaccines and autism, as overwhelming data has demonstrated. Despite that fact, the first paragraph of the CDCs guidance on vaccines and autism now reads, “Scientific studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines contribute to the development of autism.” The update exploits a loophole that allows for fearmongering to continue, experts say. The CDC can justify changing its stance despite overwhelming evidence by exploiting a quirk of logic: you cant prove something never happens, writes Dr. Jake Scott, a board-certified infectious diseases specialist and clinical associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Scientists cant prove vaccines never cause autism because proving a universal negative is logically impossible.” He adds that “the public can trust the evidence because it has shown time and time again that there is no link between vaccines and autism.” Debra Houry, the CDCs former chief medical officer, told the Washington Post that the CDC’s updated language “misrepresents decades of research.” Newly updated page tops Google search results A Google search of vaccine autism brings an AI Overview stating that Scientific evidence from numerous large-scale studies has overwhelmingly demonstrated no causal link between vaccines and autism. The AI-generated result cites the CDC, World Health Organization, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. At the same time, the CDCs newly updated page is one of the first links shown on Google after years of building up search credibility. According to its priority statement, the CDC claims that it must lead with integrity and serves the American publicindividuals, families, and communitieswho rely on accurate data, health guidance, and preventive measures. Yet it has published a falsehood that appears to bend to the will of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has peddled anti-vax conspiracies along with an unproven link between taking Tylenol while pregnant and babies developing autism. Kennedy was sworn in as U.S. health secretary in Februaryand his influence has been swift. The next month, news broke that the CDC planned to undertake a large study into the link between vaccines and autism just as declines in vaccinations fueled measles outbreaks in children. Twisting an old headline The newly updated CDC guidance is, even more confusingly, still titled, Vaccines do not cause autism.” It comes with an asterisk that the headline only remains because of an agreement with Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, to keep it on the CDC website. In February, Cassidy spoke in favor of Kennedy as U.S. health secretary, critically stating that the latter committed that he would work within the current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems, and not establish parallel systems.” Cassidy continued: “CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism. The Republican senator even emphasized earlier in his speech that the evidence shows that vaccines do not cause autism. Yet now the headline is followed with efforts to disprove the scientific evidence behind it. Fast Company has reached out to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Senator Cassidy for comment and will update this post if we hear back.
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