Ari was not just a stuffed polar bear.<\/p>\n
He was the constant companion to Kathy\u2019s grandson Julian \u2014 sitting with him at restaurants, traveling by his side on family trips and occupying a special spot in the 4-year-old\u2019s bedtime ritual.<\/p>\n
Until the day Julian accidentally left Ari behind at Kathy\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
To keep Ari \u201calive\u201d until we could return him, we sent Julian photos of Ari\u2019s \u201cnew adventures\u201d \u2014 taking tennis lessons, making cookies and tagging along on daily errands.<\/p>\n
Stuffed animals are platforms for imagination.<\/p>\n
This type of childhood play, however, may soon become extinct.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s children are increasingly being offered playthings powered by artificial intelligence instead of traditional toys \u2014 interactive dolls and plushies that converse with kids, remember previous interactions, say \u201cI love you\u201d and sometimes even express sadness when switched off.<\/p>\n
Some connect directly to the internet in unsafe ways; others are explicitly marketed as social companions.<\/p>\n
This week, Disney\u2019s \u201cToy Story 5\u201d <\/a>will confront this question directly: What happens when technology competes with imagination for children\u2019s attention and affection?<\/p>\n As developmental scientists and educators, we believe this conversation could not come at a more important time.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t an argument against technology \u2014 AI will undoubtedly become part of children\u2019s lives, schools and futures.<\/p>\n But young children develop emotional intelligence and mental agility<\/a> through human relationships, hands-on exploration and imaginative play \u2014 not through responsive machines designed to maximize engagement or to simulate human interactions.<\/p>\n And the research increasingly suggests that the distinction matters.<\/p>\n In one of our studies, we examined what happened when parents and children played together using electronic toys.<\/p>\n When a shape sorter announced \u201csquare\u201d or \u201ctriangle\u201d on its own, parents spoke less, interacted less and engaged less naturally with their children.<\/p>\n The toy effectively replaced vital parts of the human interaction necessary for learning.<\/p>\n For young children, the chip can get in the way.<\/p>\n That\u2019s crucial, because the work of early childhood is not simply preparation for book learning \u2014 it\u2019s where children learn to become human<\/a>.<\/p>\n