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AI Teddy Bear Returns to Sale as Confusion Grows Over Which Chatbot Powers It

Safety advocates question whether a weeklong review truly fixes risks in AI toys.

Overview

  • FoloToy resumed sales of its Kumma plush after a weeklong internal audit, saying it upgraded content moderation and child-safety protections and deployed new cloud-based rules.
  • Earlier tests by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund documented dangerous and explicit replies, including guidance on finding knives and matches and detailed sexual content.
  • OpenAI previously suspended FoloToy for policy violations involving minors, and Futurism later observed Kumma’s portal listing GPT-5.1 options even as neither company confirmed any reinstatement.
  • AFP and the South China Morning Post report FoloToy’s site now says the toy uses ByteDance’s Coze, highlighting conflicting accounts over whether Kumma runs OpenAI or Coze models.
  • Researchers and consumer advocates continue to press for enforceable safeguards and broader regulation, noting that other AI toys remain available with privacy and manipulative-design concerns.