Conversations with creators and thinkers who are charting the way forward in a tech-saturated society. In our shift to a digital future, we need alternatives to Big Tech. Homepage: techtonic.fm

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AI is made by humans and can be constrained by humans. We should not give AI divine authority over human dilemmas. Humans are morally accountable for their actions. As agonising as some ethical issues are, we cannot outsource them to snippets of code. AI will only become godlike if we make it so.

• Could an AI Barbie Stunt the Emotional Growth of a Generation? (IEEE, Aug 21, 2025): “A partnership between OpenAI and Mattel raises sobering questions.”

Mattel, the world’s largest toy company, has partnered with OpenAI to make that a reality. In June, the companies announced a collaboration to “bring a new dimension of AI-powered innovation and magic to Mattel’s iconic brands.” . . .

Children, especially in early developmental stages, are acutely sensitive to tone, timing, and emotional mirroring. Children playing with AI toys will believe they’re being understood, when in fact, the system is only predicting plausible next words.

We’re at a point with AI where LLMs are affecting adults in profound and unexpected ways, sometimes triggering mental health crises or reinforcing false beliefs or dangerous ideas. OpenAI, to its credit, has hired forensic psychiatrists to study how ChatGPT affects users emotionally. This is uncharted technology, and we adults are still learning how to navigate it. Should we really be exposing children to it?

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