“Don’t let them do these things”: Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a warning for parents about children’s AI toys ahead of Black Friday

Joseph Gordon-Levitt issued a cautionary message to parents this week about children’s AI toys, and his warning spread quickly across Instagram and Reddit.

Donning a holiday sweater, the actor shared a fairly dire warning ahead of Black Friday. In the caption of his Instagram Reel, he wrote, "Buying an AI Toy this Black Friday? The temptation may be there, but these toys are governed by the same attention-maximizing algorithms that run our most addictive social media platforms."

In the video, Gordon-Levitt spoke about the past and present of kids’ toys. He contrasted classic options against AI-driven devices and explained how advanced algorithms changed the landscape for families.

Gordon-Levitt’s PSA on Instagram

Gordon-Levitt began by comparing AI toys to older, simpler options. He said, "This holiday season, should you buy an Al toy for your kid? They'll probably like it. It'll probably keep their attention super well because, you know, these Al toys, they're not Teddy Ruxpin." He described Teddy Ruxpin as a toy with a tape cassette that produced basic, predictable responses.

He then shifted to what made today’s toys different. "Okay, so these Al toys, they look kind of like Teddy Ruxpin, right? They're a talking doll, but they don't have a tape cassette inside. What they have inside are billion-dollar algorithms [...] engineered [...] for what they call engagement optimization," he said. According to him, this system was "just tech speak for sucking up as much of your time and attention as they possibly can."

He continued by citing a conversation with psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Gordon-Levitt said Haidt pointed to research showing that developing brains depend on real human interactions.

"These Al toys will imitate those human interactions, but they're fake. They don't do the same thing because these Al toys don't have any real human empathy or care or understanding," he said. He closed the PSA with a holiday message, wishing viewers a warm season.

Reactions to the PSA

Reactions on Instagram appeared quickly. One commenter wrote, "Love how you are using your platform to not just educate but warn people about the state of AI." Another person focused on potential health concerns, saying, "Also, this will *destroy* a child’s dopamine system - making them more dependent on this type of stimulus and WAY harder to deal with when you try to turn it off."

The conversation grew further after the video reached Reddit. Folks discussed parenting challenges and the shifting expectations around technology. u/Miserable_Quail8638 said, "Good man. I am so glad that I have decided to be child-free cause I honestly wouldn't know how to properly parent during times like these, and have enormous respect for parents everywhere."

Meanwhile, parents weighed in with practical advice. u/McChillbone explained, "My daughter is still pretty young, but the simple answer is you simply don’t let them do these things [...] Read to them, play with them, talk to them." 

Other Redditors encouraged hands-on activities. u/Brock_woman19 wrote, "Get your kids puzzles, paint sets, sensory games."

Additionally, some commenters worried about developmental issues. u/Oz347 said, "If kids aren’t playing with dolls or transformers or other things that develop their motor skills then they’re gonna fall even more behind developmentally."

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