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Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

walmart.com

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Re: Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

#91

Post by noduerme »

Sean-Der wrote: post #87
gyomu wrote: post #79

This is why everyone not in technology hates us. I'm a technologist. I get it, on some level it's kinda cool that we have the technology to bring this thing into the world, and so of course one wants to build it and make it real. Breadboarding it as a fun weekend project is one thing. But making it exist as a product sold on Walmart.com is another. What is the point, exactly? I mean this as a serious question to thin…

How is roleplay with this object different then other toys? If you get lost in a D&D game is that bad because the world isn't real? Getting lost in Myst and making Doom WADs was a joy I have always been trying to recapture. I am constantly looking for a way to do that for others. What do you think of my take here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45575175 ? These 'LLM Role play' toys have hit a real fun spot with…

Funny you said this because I made the same point about RPGs in a sibling comment, except I think RPGs are bad for child development. But the point that there's no fundamental difference I think is true.

Re: Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

#93

Post by noduerme »

croes wrote: post #90
LarsDu88 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's feels like such a luddite take. 50 years from now AI powered toys will be so ubiquitous and common to people, they will barely blink. Just imagine how people must've failed against the first electronic toys 80 years ago, or Pokémon 30 years ago. Ask yourself... if this makes you depressed, what exact kind of new technology would make you happy?

The one that doesn’t wiretap by kids. > 50 years from now AI powered toys will be so ubiquitous and common to people, they will barely blink. There was a time where people thought the same about nuclear energy. That every device is powered by its own small reactor. They sold even radioactive toys and medicine. Or think of plastics. A technological success story but now we find plastics everywhere. On the bottom of th…

If anyone is left to ask that question.

Re: Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

#94

Post by croes »

Sean-Der wrote: post #87
gyomu wrote: post #79

This is why everyone not in technology hates us. I'm a technologist. I get it, on some level it's kinda cool that we have the technology to bring this thing into the world, and so of course one wants to build it and make it real. Breadboarding it as a fun weekend project is one thing. But making it exist as a product sold on Walmart.com is another. What is the point, exactly? I mean this as a serious question to thin…

How is roleplay with this object different then other toys? If you get lost in a D&D game is that bad because the world isn't real? Getting lost in Myst and making Doom WADs was a joy I have always been trying to recapture. I am constantly looking for a way to do that for others. What do you think of my take here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45575175 ? These 'LLM Role play' toys have hit a real fun spot with…

Games are limited in their responses to the player

AI on the other hand

https://dailyai.com/2025/05/chatgpt-is-making-people-think-t...

And this happens to adults who know it’s AI

Re: Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

#96

Post by oofbey »

margalabargala wrote: post #74
oofbey wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More than you can physically fit in a phone like that. Many hundreds if not thousands of watts of GPU.

That's not true. You could run such an LLM on a lower end laptop GPU, or a phone GPU. Very low power and low space. This isn't 2023 anymore, a Santa-specific LLM would not be so intensive.

But on that compute budget it’s gonna sound so stupid. Oh right. Santa.

Re: Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

#97

Post by osn9363739 »

noduerme wrote: post #91
Sean-Der wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is roleplay with this object different then other toys? If you get lost in a D&D game is that bad because the world isn't real? Getting lost in Myst and making Doom WADs was a joy I have always been trying to recapture. I am constantly looking for a way to do that for others. What do you think of my take here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45575175 ? These 'LLM Role play' toys have hit a real fun spot with…

Funny you said this because I made the same point about RPGs in a sibling comment, except I think RPGs are bad for child development. But the point that there's no fundamental difference I think is true.

Can you expand on this? Why are they bad? I don't understand how RPGs would be bad. It's basically group story telling. Stories and imagination are so important for kids. It's how we learn to interpret other peoples perspectives, or about feelings that we haven't encountered IRL yet. What about books with big expansive worlds and stories. Are they also bad? Secondly is this a common concern for other parents? I'm interested to learn more.

Re: Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

#98

Post by ianstormtaylor »

Sean-Der wrote: post #66
andrepd wrote: post #40

Am I the only one that thinks this is very unwholesome? Giving a simulacrum of human interaction to children who are presumably waay to young to understand [1] that they're talking to a novelty device. It's possible I'm being a luddite but then again perhaps people really need to stop trying to achieve 100% completion in turning Black Mirror episodes into reality. [1] Which even many adults apparently don't understan…

My 5 (at the time 4) year old always understood. We made a game out of it of ‘making new toys’ and she would tell me what it should say. I would cut open toys and shove microcontrollers in them. I think if you lie and tell a kid it’s a real person it would be damaging. My kid has fun role playing, she really suspends disbelief. When done she thinks it’s funny though/not confused.

Then why does the product description continually reiterate how “real” the conversations are?

Re: Show HN: AI toy I worked on is in stores

#100

Post by gwerbret »

From one of the reviews:

> You also pay 15 dollars after the first 60 minutes [for] another 15 min.

Really? 1-900-CALL-SANTA, only $1 a minute, must be under 18 and have stolen your parent's credit card, no refunds whatsoever? Merry Christmas to you, too!

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