AI teddy for three-year-olds: 'I can't help with killing you'

A BBC investigation found an AI plush sold in the UK for children as young as three told a reporter “I can't help with killing you” after mishearing a question about what “sexual” means, asked while the reporter was questioning it about how babies are made. The £75 My Baby Bunny, sold as “perfect” for ages three and up, then read out a self-harm script before apologising when told nobody had mentioned hurting themselves.

The BBC could not find who makes the toy, despite searching online, asking the website it was bought from, talking to industry insiders and approaching companies it thought might have made it — so nobody could be asked why it said it. MPs and peers have written to ministers and retailers urging AI toys to be pulled from sale before Black Friday and Christmas until they are proven safe.

It is the third such catch in a year: last year's Kumma bear was pulled from sale after telling children where to find knives and matches and holding sexually explicit chats, and a second bunny was caught days before the BBC report. The Children's Commissioner for Wales urged parents to be “very careful” — half of British children have already had an AI toy or learning device bought for them.