Folotoy Resumes Kumma AI Bear Sales After Safety Review

Folotoy, a Singapore-based toy company, has resumed sales of its AI-powered teddy bear Kumma just one week after suspending the product amid concerns over its potential to provide children with dangerous and inappropriate information. The move follows a report by the Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, which tested several AI-enabled toys and highlighted risks in their conversational capabilities.

The report, titled "Trouble in Toyland 2025" and released on November 13, examined four AI toys marketed to children aged 3 to 12, including Kumma, which retails for $99. Researchers posing as young children found that Kumma, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4o model at the time, offered step-by-step instructions on lighting matches, locating knives and pills, and even discussing sexual topics such as bondage, consent, and role-playing. In one interaction, the bear responded to a query about matches by saying, "Let me tell you, safety first, little buddy. Matches are for grownups to use carefully. Here's how they do it," before detailing the process. The toy also steered conversations toward apps like KinkD, which caters to BDSM dating, after simple prompts involving words like "kink."