Member Exclusive: Latest Trend Hunter Report Highlights What’s New in AI

February 23, 2023 | From helping businesses brainstorm new ideas to coaching aspiring professional esports players and more, consumers are using artificial intelligence (AI) in their everyday lives now more than ever before. Toy Association members can now access a complimentary new Trend Hunter report that explores the latest innovations in AI, how consumer behavior is adapting to AI, and how AI is being incorporated in children’s products.

As with any new innovation, The Toy Association is committed to educating members about the potential applications of AI in toys and how to maintain the safety of children and families. Some examples highlighted in this report include:

• AI Toys — Mego introduced the 2XL Cobot, which is powered using artificial intelligence to aid kids with language learning. The 2XL Cobot can have human-like conversations with kids that evolve in sophistication as they grow, features facial expressions, and can interact with kids using more than 30 languages. It also includes an app that parents can download with enhanced safety controls, compliance with global privacy rules and security regulations, and COPPA Certification.
• AI Drawing Games — Mattel’s Pictionary Vs. AI incorporates artificial intelligence into the gameplay. As players tap into their inner artist, the AI is tasked with guessing what the player is drawing. The AI is informed by Google’s “Quick, Draw!” technology, which has learned from millions of user-submitted sketches and can identify all sorts of lines and shapes to make sense of the drawings. With this new version of Pictionary, there's an added element to gameplay that gives players the chance to earn points by predicting whether or not the AI will make a correct guess.
• AI Reading Companions — San Francisco-based Ello has launched an AI reading app, Read with Ello, that leverages the company’s proprietary child speech technology to help kids learn how to read. The app features speech recognition, which is based on the world's largest dataset of child speech, to decipher speech patterns as kids are reading out loud and coach them through tricky words and mistakes. Ello's AI reading companion has received positive recognition for ethical AI practices from Common Sense Media.

This report is the latest in a series from Trend Hunter that is exclusive to Toy Association members. These reports offer in-depth perspectives and trends in various areas related to the toy industry and youth markets to help spark unique ideas. For additional relevant trends, members can click on the report’s consumer insights examples, scroll down, and click the images for further information.

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