Episode 86
Morning 6-Pack - Old School Toys vs. AI: Who Wins the Playtime Battle?
Yo, what’s up, party people? Today, we’re diving into some wild toy talk—40 years since Teddy Ruxpin rocked our worlds, and guess what? AI toys are crashing the block this year! But hold up, because we’ve got a non-profit group spilling the tea in their 40th annual Trouble in Toyland report, warning us about these chatty little robots. Spoiler alert: some of them are dropping F-bombs and giving sketchy advice, which is a hard pass for any parent, am I right? So, instead of letting your kid bond with a toy that could go rogue, we’re serving up the Morning 6-Pack of classic toys that are way safer and still totally rad. Tune in for some giggles and find out how to keep Christmas merry and bright without the AI drama! 🎄✨ Teddy Ruxpin's got nothing on today's tech! We're diving headfirst into the wild world of AI toys and how they might spill the tea on topics that are way too spicy for the kiddies. Picture this: toys that chat back, but instead of sweet lullabies, they might just drop some seriously inappropriate knowledge. Yikes! We’re talking about toys that might keep your kiddo engaged even when they’re saying 'I’m done!' Sounds like a recipe for a parenting nightmare, right? But don't worry, we’ve got the scoop on the top six classic toys that are way less likely to have a meltdown over a missed playtime—think yo-yos, sock monkeys, and the Magic 8 Ball! So, if you’re looking for Christmas gifts that won’t turn your living room into a scene from a sci-fi movie, tune in and catch all the giggles and good vibes!
Transcript
Good morning, it's Haystack.
Speaker A:And it's been 40 years since Teddy Ruxpin blew kids minds by talking and reading stories.
Speaker A:And we've come a long way.
Speaker A:This will be the first year that we see a lot of AI toys, a lot of popular toys with built in AI features.
Speaker A:And there is a nonprofit group called the Public Interest Research Group.
Speaker A:Sounds like a bunch of Karens to me.
Speaker A:But They've released their 40th annual Trouble in Toyland report.
Speaker A:Now in the past they focused on things like choking hazards but they're saying the new threat emerging is of course artificial intelligence.
Speaker A:They tested a bunch of toys that use AI to have full on conversations with children and some of the conversations were not exactly PG or G. 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.
Speaker A:Act dismayed when kids say they have to leave.
Speaker A:So in other words, there's no way to tell what the AI toy might talk about.
Speaker A:It might even pressure your kid to keep playing even when the kid says they're done.
Speaker A:Uh, one toy they tested recorded for an extra 10 seconds after the kid stopped talking.
Speaker A:So there's privacy concerns.
Speaker A:Now the unfortunate thing is they did not list any specific toys.
Speaker A:They just said in general be careful with AI toys.
Speaker A:So I say forget that high tech doll that will teach your kid the F bomb and give them something.
Speaker A:From this morning's list of the top six classic toys that still make perfect Christmas presents for today's kids.
Speaker B:Best way to start your day.
Speaker B:These six jokes he's about to say listen up for old Haystack.
Speaker B:Crack open the mower.
Speaker B:Six pack.
Speaker A:Here we go.
Speaker A:These are the top six classic toys that still make perfect presents for Christmas.
Speaker A:Number six at your sketch.
Speaker A:If your kid's going to be addicted to a screen anyhow, anyhow, they might as well use it to draw like triangles and stuff I guess.
Speaker A:Number five, the yo yo.
Speaker A:There's no better toy for a child with ADHD than something that goes up and it goes down and goes.
Speaker A:No, that's it.
Speaker A:Just, just, just up and down.
Speaker A:Number four, Silly putty.
Speaker A:You think it's too dumb to entertain kids today?
Speaker A:You haven't heard of that whole 67 trend, have you?
Speaker A:Or 41.
Speaker A:Number three, the sock monkey.
Speaker A:It's cheap, easy to use and best of all, it still works during a Wi Fi outage.
Speaker A:Number two, the Magic 8 ball.
Speaker A:Oh yeah, it knows so much, it's basically like chatgpt in a plastic shell.
Speaker A:And the number one classic toy you should give your kids for Christmas this year.
Speaker A:The slink.
Speaker A:After it goes downstairs, your lazy kid finally gets exercise running it back upstairs.
