It is a fascinating story about ethical boundaries and where technology could lead us. In an article by Katie Lobosco for CNN Money entitled: “Talking Barbie is too ‘creepy’ for some parents,” we are treated to a new generation of Barbie that is leaving many parents – and at least one ethics consultant – a bit uncertain.
“’Hello Barbie’ uses speech recognition and connects to Wi-Fi. When someone presses a button on her belt buckle, Barbie will record what you say and send it up to the cloud. It’s saved, so Barbie keeps learning more and more about you, in order to inform her responses.”
Ms. Lobosco asked the opinion of Susan Linn, the director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood about her opinion on this doll. Said Ms. Linn:
“Kids using ‘Hello Barbie’ aren’t only talking to a doll, they are talking directly to a toy conglomerate whose only interest in them is financial. Overtime, ‘Hello Barbie’ will learn a child’s likes and dislikes so that she can incorporate them into conversation.”
The toy is very interactive – perhaps too much so. For Mattel’s part, they have issued a statement that the new Barbie conforms to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and they assure us that there are many safeguards in place to prevent unauthorized people from accessing the information. Of course, we are told on a daily basis that our information is safe, and almost every day we read about a database that has been hacked. To believe that Mattel has more sophistication in its cloud-based storage than an airline or major retailer or credit card company is rather difficult to accept.
Potential Ethical Dangers
Your young child is innocent. To the child, a doll is a doll. I am not a psychologist, but I am well-read enough to know that children often view their toys as much more than inanimate objects; they may be the door to an entire world. For a child who has “issues,” a meaningful relationship with a doll can be transformative; perhaps, lifesaving. I am hardly the first person to mention this! Does anyone remember Calvin and Hobbes? Children will tell their dolls and stuffed animal’s things that they might not ever tell another human being. Unfortunately, I think that Mattel understands this as well.
To the child, the “Hello Barbie” may turn into their best friend. To a multi-billion dollar toy conglomerate, the doll has the potential to be a piece of market research software capable of directing the child to new products or of compiling and amassing information that can be packaged, re-sold and compiled into statistical databases. Should I be sounding a little Orwellian here, let’s not forget that for years the kids advertising on television and more lately, the internet has been directed at children – not their parents. In addition, packaging, package placement, numerous websites, music and even movies have made strong note that it is often the child who drives household purchases. With an interactive toy that is able to store the child’s most personal thoughts it can take buying decisions and sales drivers to a whole new level.
Though Mattel would like to have us believe that “Hello Barbie” is a harmless object, the potential for the abuse of the data is more than just a passing concern. Who is minding the ethics of this new class of toys?
For whatever reasons (and I am sure there are many), Mattel’s sales have declined for the last eight quarters. The CEO has just been replaced and many changes have been promised. The sales of Barbie, herself, have been plummeting as well. There is undoubtedly a constant scene of finger-pointing as executives struggle for answers. The more “intimate” market research can become with their target market, the more they might be able to come up with the “why” of it all, and more specifically, the “what.” What does it take to get more Barbie “units” into the tiny hands of children? The answers could be locked in the interactivity.
While this is all conjecture on my part, it again underscores the ongoing need for ethics training in corporate America, even in the toy industry. Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Blue Cross and Microsoft have recently been hacked; they are hardly naïve as to cyber-security, so why not Barbie? Access to data does not have to be the domain of foreign opportunists, but can also come from within. There are no guarantees but at least ethical training can signal to employees that certain roads should not be taken.
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