AI toys – Jonathan Haidt says the fast-growing market for AI-powered toys and chatbots could interfere with how children form attachments, potentially shifting emotional bonds away from parents. Speaking at a TED Talk, he warned that highly responsive companions—already
A child reaches for comfort, and the “companion” is always there—ready to talk back, ready to reassure. Jonathan Haidt worries that this kind of constant, responsive attention could redraw a line children have always understood: the one between a parent and everything else.
Speaking at a TED Talk. the NYU Stern School of Business professor—whose book “The Anxious Generation” helped spark a global debate about the impact of smartphones and social media on young people’s mental health—said his newest concern is AI toys designed for children. “We’re seeing a booming AI toy market. Chatbots are being put into dolls and teddy bears,” Haidt said.
He didn’t name specific products in his remarks. but he pointed to a category that has expanded over the last couple of years: AI-powered toys and companions that can respond as if they are listening. Examples he cited include Moxie, an AI-powered social robot designed to be children’s friend, tutor, and mentor. He also referenced chatbot-enabled dolls and teddy bears developed by startups like Curio. Haidt further noted that toy giant Mattel has partnered with OpenAI to explore AI-powered products.
Behind the scenes of those partnerships and launches is the pace of market growth. Market research firm Grand View Research estimates that the global smart toy market, including AI toys, will grow from $14.39 billion in 2025 to $44 billion by 2033.
Haidt’s concern is built around responsiveness—how these products are designed to behave. He said these chatbots are made to be “super responsive to the child,” offering comfort, conversation, and companionship whenever needed. “They’re always there to offer comfort. to be there for the child — and of course. the parents are often busy. ” Haidt said.
That constant availability, in his view, is exactly what could make the emotional stakes different for young children. He argues that young children naturally gravitate toward people who consistently respond to their needs. If an AI companion becomes more reliably responsive than parents. he said. it could move into an “unhealthy role” in a child’s emotional development.
“If the chatbot is super responsive while the parents aren’t as responsive. the child’s attachment system. which is looking for who in my environment is the person who responds to me. may well imprint or focus on the chatbot. which is going to compromise their relationship with their own parents. ” Haidt said.
His warning lands in a broader argument he has been making for what he calls “techno-skepticism”—a reluctance to let certain technologies shape children’s lives without sufficient safeguards. Haidt said society moved too quickly when social media companies were allowed to shape children’s social lives and educational technology companies were allowed to reshape classrooms. “We let social media companies take over our kids’ social lives. and they’ve harmed our kids’ social lives and their mental health. ” he said. He added: “We let EdTech companies take over our kids’ schools. and they appear to be doing more harm than good.”.
Now, he said, AI companies are aiming at an even more intimate part of childhood: relationships. “AI companies are coming for their relationships, to be their friends, their therapists,” Haidt said. “What could go wrong?”
He acknowledged that AI therapists may eventually have a role, but he drew a firm line at how emotionally persuasive systems are introduced now. He said companies should not be allowed to deploy emotionally persuasive AI products to children without years of safety testing.
His practical instruction was blunt: “Give them nothing that conveys that it understands the child or that it cares,” Haidt said. “Because it doesn’t.”
Jonathan Haidt The Anxious Generation AI toys AI chatbots smart toy market Moxie Curio Mattel OpenAI childrens mental health emotional attachment techno-skepticism TED Talk Grand View Research