Should you get your child an AI doll this holiday?
The technological revolution has hit the doll
As an education scholar who conducts research on popular toys, these dolls make me pause to think about the direction of human progress. What does it mean for children’s development, to confuse real bodies with machines?
Take Luvabella. She’s supposedly one of this holiday season’s “must-have” toys. Luvabella looks at you with an astonishingly life-like expressive face, her lips and cheeks moving animatronically, her sizeable eyes blinking. She responds to your voice, laughs when you tickle her toes, plays peek-a-boo, babbles and learns words. As babies go, she’s pretty upbeat and low maintenance.