Emancipating parents is still a false proposition

Written by Lai Hsien-ki

Editor/ Chen Dengxin

Typography/ Annalee

Recently, the wind of AI has been blowing to the children's track.

First, OpenAI invested in Heeyo, a children's game generator company, and then there was an AI startup founded by the original Tmall Genie partner, and Haivivi launched AI toys, and then 360 released the first children's AI watch in China, and not long ago, Conan AI, an AI education startup, completed an angel round of financing of millions of yuan......

On the other hand, according to media reports, since the release of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, by July 29, 2024, nearly 80,000 (78,612) newly registered artificial intelligence (AI)-related companies in China are in an abnormal state of cancellation, revocation or closure of business.

At present, from children's educational hardware, children's toys to children's games, the subdivisions related to children's needs have become new opportunities for many AI companies. However, as more and more parents pay for "AI+", related risks are quietly breeding......

Big factory executives are eyeing AI toys

"The teacher is not old, why is he called a teacher?"

"Are there any ghosts in the world?"

"Why are human and animal body parts different?"

……

If in the past, parents always had to deal with their children's "100,000 whys", nowadays, many parents are trying to liberate themselves through AI conversation toys. Search for "AI toys" on social media such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo, and many videos will show the same product - a white ball in the shape of a light bulb with a colorful lanyard. This AI dialogue toy, priced at 449 yuan, comes from Haivivi, an AI startup founded by the original Tmall Genie partner, called BubblePal. It can be hung on a variety of plush toys and, based on AI technology, have conversations with children, or generate stories, etc.

In the videos shared by parents, whether it is a fluffy long-eared rabbit, or a Transformers and Ultraman, as long as you wear this BubblePal, you can make a sound. Sometimes it's in the role of Porco Pig, sometimes it's Princess Elsa or Teddy. According to the official introduction, the setting of the role can be completed by parents on the software according to the preferences of their children. For the same question, BubblePal will give a completely different answer according to the persona trained for a long time.

It is understood that Haivivi was incubated in iQiyi in the early stage, and then spun off at the end of 2021, and received tens of millions of yuan of angel investment from Lanchi Venture Capital.

This AI toy, which went on sale in China on July 30, has now sold more than 800 pieces in Taobao's official flagship store. On Xiaohongshu, topics related to it have been viewed nearly 50,000 times.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to the AI toys themselves, their subscription services also need to be paid, mainly referring to additional value-added services and annual fee systems, such as generating user reports, badge systems, etc.

AI toys are nothing new. Previously, overseas, the toy company Curio had cooperated with Canada musician Grimes to develop interactive AI plush toys for children with the help of OpenAI's language model, and subdivided them into three - Gabbo, Grem and Grok, which can communicate with children and have different personalities.

But in China, it has only gradually picked up this year. More and more entrepreneurs see the opportunity to combine plush toys and AI large models, and they are taking frequent actions. Not only Haivivi, but also a number of startups have joined the AI toy track this year.

Among them, in April 2024, the AI emotional companion innovation company "Super Cub" announced the completion of a new round of angel round financing. According to the official introduction, the vertical AI model specially designed for emotional companionship of Super Cub not only integrates text, voice, vision and other capabilities, but also has the ability to clone and generate voice, personality, and image with one click. In addition, Super Cub has also developed a smart chip that can turn any toy into a smart toy, and with its self-developed App, it "realizes the companionship ability of education, entertainment, love, healing and other scenarios at low cost". It has been revealed that Super Cub has signed a number of IP and toy brands.

FoloToy, who is also a startup, has the idea of combining AI with storytelling. FoloToy designed a modified circuit board kit with a large AI model and embedded it in the Fire Bunny toy, named Fofo. The toy has 7 built-in characters that can be adapted to children of different ages.

The latest news is that Huang Yingning, the former general manager of 4Paradigm AIOS, recently established "Bei Companion Technology", and the entrepreneurial direction will focus on the related toy hardware of AI large model education and companionship.

However, if you take a closer look at these startups, it is not difficult to find that their products are highly homogeneous. Whether it is the setting of different characters, companion education functions such as dialogue and storytelling, or the product form of toys + large models, the difference is not large. Perhaps, in this era when IP is king, in order to stand out among similar brands, it ultimately depends on the creation of IP.

Educational hardware "AI+" is both a trend and a gimmick

If AI toys have just started, then AI education hardware has already opened the "volume" in China. At present, from learning machines, dictionary pens, to early education machines, story machines, word cards and other small categories of hardware, all of them have been injected with "AI elements".

The latest news is that children's watches will also usher in a change. At the beginning of July, 360 released the first children's AI watch in China, "360 Children's Watch A9 AI Red Edition", with an initial price of 999 yuan. According to titanium media reports, this watch is the world's first true AI children's watch connected to the 360 intelligent brain model, which is positioned as a child's intelligent external brain and all-round helper. 360 Children's Watch A9 AI Red Edition has covered children's learning and life scenes, including: heart-to-heart friends, psychological tutors, Chinese teachers, creative little painters, story kings, etc.

360 Children's Watch A9 AI Red Edition

In addition to the top companies, startups are also dynamic. Earlier, Conan (Hengqin, Guangdong) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. completed an angel round of financing of millions of yuan, with investors as the founder of Lufeng Group and Jianmian Technology, and Huafon Capital as the exclusive financial advisor. Founded in 2024, Conan AI is a scientific and technological innovation enterprise focusing on the research and development of AI+ children's education products.

In fact, the fastest educational hardware for open-book AI is still the learning machine. In the past two years, NetEase Youdao has released a large education model "Ziyue"; Xueersi has passed the large model MathGPT for the record; The homework help also integrates functions such as AI correction.

Among them, the 2024 version of Xueersi's learning machine in May is on the market, equipped with AI Chinese and English composition assistant, AI dictation, AI recitation, AI oral arithmetic correction, Xiaosi practice and other "10 AI artifacts", and claims to support the learning of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology at the junior high school level.

However, although the technological prospect and development direction are good, there is a question mark over whether products and brands can be empowered by AI technology to subvert traditional educational hardware.

After all, it is not difficult to find that many brands of AI learning machines have encountered complaints and doubts from parents. Among them, under a note titled "I want to persuade squirrel AI again", many parents pointed out that the experience of using the squirrel AI system and program is not good, and "I regret buying it". In addition, Xueersi's learning machine was also accused of being "very chicken", and some parents mentioned, "It is claimed that there is AI to correct homework, and the mistakes circled are also checked, not once or twice." ”

Child Companion Artifact or Childhood Terminator?

"The first mature commercial scenario of AI hardware must be for children." According to Jiemian News, in the view of Li Yong, the founder of Haivivi, it is best to combine AI entrepreneurship with hardware in China, because China has the advantage of the industrial chain.

In fact, whether it is children's toys or educational hardware, in addition to the advantages of the industrial chain, there is indeed a market demand that cannot be underestimated. According to IMARCGROUP, the global toy market will reach $183 billion in 2023 and grow. Even in Japan, where the birthrate is declining, the toy market will still maintain a high growth rate of 7.1% in fiscal year 2023 (March 31, 2023 - March 31, 2024).

Not to mention the sales of learning machines, even in the more difficult year of 2022, compared with the general decline in sales of 3C electronics, learning machines, which were originally regarded as fully competitive markets, have achieved revenue growth of more than 30% in 2022.

To a certain extent, AI toys and AI education hardware are gradually becoming a new generation of companion artifacts for children in the name of "liberating parents".

However, as Bao Leiping of the Institute of Sociology of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences wrote, with the iterative upgrading of the level of technological empowerment, more and more people are beginning to worry that in the era of AIGC, children no longer need a slow and complex learning process, and can easily grasp the key to the adult world, especially when AI has feelings and can establish more intimate and convenient interactions with children, and when adult guidance and supervision become more and more pale, the uncertainty of the values of the younger generation has also increased exponentially.

A typical risk is that children may fall into the "rabbit hole effect" proposed by the European Union, that is, seeing these fantasy images laid by AI, children are like Alice in fairy tales, in order to chase rabbits, enter endless caves one after another, increasingly immersed in the virtual world, unable to easily leave, and gradually detached from real life. In addition to online addiction, the "rabbit hole effect" also faces other risks, such as children's data security, children's physical and mental health, children's rights, and lack of regulatory responsibility.

It is undeniable that "AI+" has become a major trend of development, and digitalization is constantly empowering children's development, but when various AI products begin to "surround" children, will children get richer companionship, or will they end their childhood early to some extent?

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