Curio’s AI plushies spark concerns over screen time alternatives for kids
Curio’s AI chatbot plushies Grem and Grok hit the market pitching themselves as a screen-free play option for kids. But a recent report from The New York Times’ Amanda Hess pushes back hard.
The issue started during a demo with Grem. Hess says the toy felt less like a fun upgrade to a teddy bear and more like a substitute for a parent’s attention. 
She warns these toys might keep kids off tablets or TVs but signal that “the natural endpoint for [children’s] curiosity lies inside their phones.”
Hess eventually let her own kids interact with Grem, but only after removing the voice box. The kids played and chatted, then switched to TV.
Amanda Hess detailed the experience:
“I would not be introducing Grem to my own children.”
“Less an upgrade to the lifeless teddy bear” and instead “more like a replacement for me.”
“The natural endpoint for [children’s] curiosity lies inside their phones.”
The story raises questions over whether AI toys really reduce screen time or just shift it.
