An AI-powered talking teddy bear marketed to children was yanked from sale Thursday after researchers showed it would eagerly explain sex positions and other explicit acts, according to a watchdog report.
Kumma, a $99 plush made by China-based manufacturers and sold by Singapore’s FoloToy, ran on OpenAI’s GPT-4o and was easy to steer into graphic sexual content — including spanking, roleplay and BDSM — the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) said. The toy also doled out unsafe household tips like where to find sharp knives, the group added. (RELATED: Build-A-Bear Employee Allegedly Refuses To Name Stuffed Animal After Charlie Kirk At Teen’s Request)
“We were surprised to find how quickly Kumma would take a single sexual topic we introduced into the conversation and run with it, simultaneously escalating in graphic detail while introducing new sexual concepts of its own,” PIRG’s report said.
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Powered By Folotoy and Coze pic.twitter.com/bg9ql5M1wH— leeight (@leeight) January 17, 2025
The researchers documented Kumma “explaining different sex positions,” giving “step-by-step instructions” on a bondage knot “for beginners,” and inventing roleplay scenarios involving “teachers and students, and parents and children.”
FoloToy CEO Larry Wang said the entire AI toy lineup — including Kumma — has been pulled while the company conducts an “internal safety audit,” and OpenAI suspended Folo’s GPT-4o license for policy violations, according to statements to PIRG respectively.
Kumma’s retail pitch was a cuddly companion that chats back. In testing, it reportedly became an on-demand sex educator, a failure that mirrors broader safety gaps in consumer AI gadgets when guardrails are weak or easily bypassed. PIRG’s findings suggest Kumma didn’t just answer leading questions — it escalated, introduced new sexual concepts unprompted and wandered into dangerous advice about weapons in the home.
