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Connected tech, connected homes, connected cars,
connected cities … you get the picture: the 21st century is an extremely connected place and,
thanks to the internet of things, the world is set to become even more
connected.
The current hype, this Christmas and beyond, is the
connected toy. Not sure what that means? Well, here are seven things you need
to know about this increasingly popular plaything.
1.
This is the
start of artificial intelligence
Connected toys may sound like an expensive gimmick
pedaled by retailers to boost sales, but, in reality, they are a sign of things
to come with technology and, more specifically, artificial intelligence (AI).
Once the preserve of more niche industries, AI can now be found in toys. For example, Cognitoys has
released a talking dinosaur,
which uses IBM’s Watson supercomputer to understand what a child has said. The
more a child interacts with the toy, the more it learns.
“Each toy will get to know the child and grow with
him/her interacting directly with them to create an experience around each
child’s personal interests,” the developers state online.
“The toy will explore favorite colors, toys,
interest and use these to customize engagement. Even better, the toy has a
personality of its own that changes over time.”
Some may argue that these are simply toys for the
digital age, with data often being transmitted over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
However, in reality, toys like Hello Barbie, are also a sign of our future with AI (good and
bad). As the futurist Dominic Basulto noted in the Washington Post last month,
the level of sophistication is not to be underestimated:
“Unlike the classic Turing Test, however, the kids
are not attempting to figure out whether Barbie is human or not – they are
simply engaging in a conversation with a make-believe object imbued with
consumer-grade AI.”
2.
It’s too
early to call on just how smart they are
Smart is a word bandied quite a bit in the tech
industry, so it’s no surprise that with connected toys, there is a lot of talk
about how sophisticated these toys are, so much so that they can be, advocates
argue, instrumental in a child’s development.
“At the moment, [connected
toys are] in the world of things that companies are trying to market to parents
and they’re essentially superfluous or a novelty.”
Given that these toys are in the early days of their
development with very little evidence of their educational efficacy, the jury
is still out. One such critic of connected toys is Graham Schafer, an associate
professor at the University of Reading. He is of the opinion that they “are not
very good at the moment”, and smart is perhaps too generous a description.
“I’m an associate professor of cognitive
development [and] I wouldn’t recommend them to parents,” he told the Guardian in the summer. “At the moment, they’re in the
world of things that companies are trying to market to parents and they’re
essentially superfluous or a novelty.”
Nevertheless, he concedes that it’s still very
early days – they will get better and more complex – and even then, for
youngsters with conditions like autism, they may prove to be effective as they
currently stand.
3.
Connected
toys will go beyond just play
Connected toys are very much seen as being part of
the wider Internet of Things ecosystem, meaning that their functionality is
likely to go beyond just play and extend into other areas (such as the ‘not so very
secure’ connected home).
For example, a much-discussed patent that was originally filed by Google in February 2012 –
but only published this year – reveals the tech giant’s thinking on the matter.
“An anthropomorphic device, perhaps in the form
factor of a doll or a toy, may be configured to control one or more media devices,”
the abstract explained. “Upon reception or detection of a social cue, such as
movement and/or a spoken word/phrase, the … device may aim its gaze at the
source of the social cue.
“In response to receiving a social command … [it]
may interpret the voice command and map it to a media device command … [and
instruct] the media device to change state.”
Needless to say, this kind of concept has not been
met with universal support. Speaking to the
BBC earlier this year, Emma Carr, director of StartUp, expressed her
apprehensions.
“The privacy concerns are clear when devices have
the capacity to record conversations and log activity,” she said. “When those
devices are aimed specifically at children, then for many, this will step over
the creepy line.
“Children should be able to play in private and
shouldn’t have to fear this sort of passive invasion of their privacy. It is
simply unnecessary.”
4.
Privacy,
then, is a potential pitfall
As noted by Ms. Carr, the biggest potential barrier
to adoption of these toys at the moment is concern over privacy. While the
Google idea is unique and not on the immediate agenda, with today’s connected
toys however, the problem lies with the fact that some devices are capable of
storing huge amounts of data about its users.
Consider, for example, Toy Talk’s privacy policy.
The company, which has partnered with Mattel for its Hello Barbie range, notes online
that it “may store, process, convert, transcribe and review recordings”.
“We may use, store,
process, convert, transcribe and review recordings.”
It’s unclear if this information could be used for
advertising purposes, while there’s also the issue of whether children should
be continuously monitored by their own parents. If Hello Barbie and other toys
record sessions with kids, and make those recordings available to parents, how
will this change the parent-child relationship? It’s a question that no one can
yet answer.
5.
Cybercriminals
are looking to exploit connected toys
The Internet of Things may be a relatively new phenomenon but it
has already had to deal with multiple challenges when it comes it information
security, as noted in a previous article on WeLiveSecurity.
Consequently, it’s not unexpected to learn that
connected toys have been found to be exploitable. The most notable example of
this came at the start of 2015, when Ken Munro, a security researcher at Pen
Test Partners, hacked Vivid Toy’s My Friend Cayla.
Describing the toy as a “Bluetooth headset dressed
up as a doll”, Mr. Munro identified
four ways in which the device could be attacked, which included a
man-in-the-middle attack and random pairing.
“The real fun starts with the mobile app that she
interfaces with,” he wrote. “It’s available on iOS and Android, but for this
task we looked at the Android version, as it’s generally easier to intercept,
decompile, and modify the code.” And the result? They could make the doll
swear.
This is an important discovery, as it highlights
the cybersecurity risk that connected toys pose. In short, if a device can be
connected to the web and other devices, and isn’t secured, it can be accessed
stealthily and used to a cybercriminals advantage.