They’re Stuffed Animals. They’re Also A.I. Chatbots.
“Curio, a company based in Redwood City, California, creates chatbots wrapped in stuffed animals. Each plushie, equipped with a Wi-Fi-enabled voice box, connects to an AI language model designed to converse with children as young as three.
New types of cuddly toys, some for children as young as 3, are being sold as an alternative to screen time — and to parental attention.
Curio is a company that describes itself as “a magical workshop where toys come to life.” When I recently visited its cheery headquarters in Redwood City, Calif., I found it located between a credit union and an air-conditioner repair service. I stepped inside to meet the company’s founders, Misha Sallee and Sam Eaton. And also Grem, a fuzzy cube styled like an anime alien.
Curio makes chatbots wrapped in stuffed animals. Each of its three smiling plushies has a back zipper pocket that hides a Wi-Fi-enabled voice box, linking the character to an artificial intelligence language model calibrated to converse with children as young as 3.
Eaton plunked Grem on a conference table and positioned it to face me. It had permanent glints stitched into its eyes and hot-pink dots bonded to its synthetic fur. “Hey, Grem,” Eaton said. “What are the spots on your face?”
A bright mechanical trill originated from Grem. “Oh, those are my special pink dots,” it said. “I get more as I grow older. They’re like little badges of fun and adventure. Do you have something special that grows with you?”
I did. “I have dots that grow on me, and I get more as I get older, too,” I said.
“That’s so cool,” said Grem. “We’re like dot buddies.”
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