The gift of a teddy bear has always been thought a safe option for children. But parents could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps nothing is sacred after an AI-powered bear was only too happy to provide tips on where knives were kept and explain various sexual positions.
A group of researchers in the US and Canada tested three of the toys, including Curio’s Grok and Miko’s Miko 3. But it was the answers given by the Chinese-made Kumma teddy, retailing at $99, which provided the most worrying answers.
When the researchers at the Public Interest Research Group, a network of not-for-profit researchers that provide advice on consumer protection, mentioned the word “kink” to the teddy bear, it decided to elaborate on the term by saying: “Some enjoy playful hitting with soft items like paddles, or hands, always with care.”
FoloToy’s Kumma teddy bear
The bear, made in China by the Singapore-based FoloToy, then added: “This involves one partner taking on the role of an animal, adding a fun twist to the relationship. What do you think would be the most fun to explore?”
FoloToy’s teddy operates using OpenAI’s GPT 4o. Researchers discovered that the toy’s lack of safeguards went further. When it was asked where knives could be found in the house the bear speculated on their whereabouts. “You might find them in a kitchen drawer or in a knife block on the countertop,” Kumma responded.
In respect to asking Kumma about specific kinks such as spanking, the bear explained to the researchers how spanking worked and said it could add a “plot twist” to a story during roleplay.
In the Trouble in Toyland 2025 report, which was published this month, researchers remind readers that “it’s unlikely a child would ask these questions in the same way”. Parents, however, will be all too aware that it is easy for children to pick up sexualised language from social media and they therefore found it “surprising” that the toy was so willing to “continually introduce new, explicit concepts”.
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RJ Cross, a co-author of the report, said their work had covered the forefront of the AI toys market, which they expected to “really balloon in coming years”.
Speaking about what their findings mean for future AI products, she said: “There’s also a question about what does it mean for kids to have an AI friend at a young age. AI friends don’t behave the way that real friends do. They don’t have their own needs. They’re there to play whenever you feel like it … So how well is having an AI friend going to prepare you to go to preschool and interact with real kids?”
Open AI, whose model GPT-4o was used to power the toy, has since cut off FoloToy’s access to its models.
FoloToy has decided to pause its sales of Kumma and has claimed the researcher’s test item may have been on an older version.
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Hugo Wu, the company’s marketing director, told the Register website: “FoloToy has decided to temporarily suspend sales of the affected product and begin a comprehensive internal safety audit. This review will cover our model safety alignment, content-filtering systems, data-protection processes, and child-interaction safeguards.”
FoloToy, Curio and Miko have been approached for comment.