Try for free
Beyond Connected
Beyond Connected

[Ep. 11] The Dangers of AI Toys w/ PIRG Researcher R.J. Cross

24 December 2025 26:35 CyberGuy

Listen to episode

About this episode

Wouldn't your niece or nephew like a cuddly teddy bear that could also tell them a bedtime story?

That's the idea behind a flood of new AI toys. Powered by ChatGPT, they can have full conversations with your loved ones. So what's the issue? Well as Researcher R.J. Cross explains, there are quite a few issues. In her study with the Public Research Interest Group, she found that these toys would describe sexual and violent information in detail with enough prompting. The longer the conversation, the deeper the rabbit hole would go.

And that's not all – the developers behind this tech are deliberately making it as addictive as possible, even making kids feel guilty for switching them off. The icing on the cake? They're also tracking large amounts of sensitive personal data and sending it off to third parties. This was a fascinating, somewhat scary chat, and I know you'll get some fantastic insight out of it.

Plus, tune in to hear about a new Cloud storage scam to avoid this holiday season. Happy Holidays from the CyberGuy team! We hope you're enjoying some nice quality time with the family. If you know someone who got their loved one an AI toy for the holidays, consider sending them this episode!

Enjoying the show? Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. Head over to www.getbeyondconnected.com to find the show on other platforms.

Have a question for Kurt? Call 877-655-KURT and leave a voicemail.

Related articles:

Learn about the the new Cloud storage scam and get our data removal/password manager recs here: www.cyberguy.com/storagescam

Get more info on AI toys: www.cyberguy.com/AItoys

Chapters

(0:00) - Intro

(2:12) - Cloud Storage Scam

(4:57) - Interview w/ R.J. Cross

(6:24) - The Public Interest Research Group

(7:32) - Are AI Toys Safe for Kids?

(9:28) - Kumma Teddy Bear

(11:29) - Curio's "Grok" Toy

(13:33) - Are All AI Toys Bad?

(16:00) - Miko 3 Toy

(17:43) - Key Takeaways

(18:06) - Wait for Improvements

(18:20) - Don't Replace Real Friends

(18:50) - Test the Toys Yourself

(19:21) - Supervise Playtime

(19:50) - Secure the Toys

(20:00) - Utilize Privacy Settings

(21:17) - AI Barbies

(24:03) - Summary

More AI podcast episodes

Browse all →

Want to find AI jobs?

Join thousands of AI professionals finding their next opportunity

We respect your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.

© 2026 Beyond Connected. All rights reserved.

Common Questions

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about how DevFound's AI matching, resumes, and referrals work.

DevFound's AI Copilot ingests your profile, goals, and live job data to deliver curated matches in seconds. Every match includes a resume variant, suggested referrals, and interview prep so you can act immediately. The more feedback you provide, the sharper the Copilot becomes.

AI-led job searches shrink the hours spent sifting through boards and formatting resumes. DevFound pairs automation with your personal outreach, so you reserve energy for interviews and negotiation. Traditional networking still matters, but AI gives you a lift before you even send a message.

Modern AI roles expect comfort with production-grade code, data fluency, and practical ML tooling. The strongest candidates pair deep technical chops with storytelling—translating model impact to product, GTM, and exec partners. Continuous learning keeps you ahead as stacks evolve.

DevFound rewards active seekers. Keep your profile fresh, respond to match quality prompts, and enable alerts so you never miss a role. The AI prioritizes companies and teams that align with your feedback, accelerating both introductions and interview invites.

High-density tech hubs continue to host the deepest AI talent pools, yet distributed teams are catching up fast. Use DevFound filters to hone in on onsite, hybrid, or fully remote roles and watch openings expand across time zones.

DevFound aggregates thousands of remote AI openings and flags the nuances—core hours, async culture, and visa needs—up front. The Copilot also recommends how to position your distributed work experience so hiring managers know you can thrive on a remote team.

Still have questions?

Contact Support