AI toys are the futuristic counterpart of ‘My Talking Angela’, but at least the anonymous persona rumoured to be the creepy old man was a human. The urban legend remained; however, AI toys pose a bigger threat altogether.
Today’s host for ‘Against AI Agenda’ is Inception actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He has adopted a position opposing AI, particularly regarding children’s electronic toys. Gordon-Levitt explains why he thinks parents shouldn’t buy AI toys for their children this Christmas and in the coming years in a video that he posted on Facebook.
Gordon-Levitt cited a July 2025 video of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, in which Zuckerberg stated that Meta intends to make sophisticated chatbot technology available to people, characterising it as a service that will be “more personal in nature.”
“Personal in nature is, I suppose, what Mark calls it when his chatbots get sexual with underage users,” he added. He shared examples of responses the chatbot is permitted to provide and discussed a recent breach of internal Meta documents outlining the rules on what their AI systems should say while engaging with kids.
He argues that the corporate push for “engagement optimisation” for kids is nothing more than technical jargon for maximising a person’s engagement span. Due to the prevalence of smartphone apps, social media, and superficial entertainment, many people—young and old alike—are unable to concentrate properly, a problem well known in today’s media-driven society.
In an interview with the author of The Anxious Generation concerning the impact of AI toys on kids, the actor states that these devices are “made to hook your kid and turn them into a lifelong addict.” He goes on to explain how a chatbox toy can impair a child’s development in terms of interpersonal relationships and personal growth. He cautions, “These AI toys will imitate those human interactions, but they’re fake.”
His thoughtful insights against AI received a good reception on Reddit. One user claims, “I love that JGL is bringing attention to this and I hate that so many ‘titans of industry’ profit off the exploitation of children.” Another user added, “Thank you, JGL, for raising awareness.”
