What happens when a kid’s robot best friend dies?
2026-08-20 · MIT Technology Review
What Happens When a Child's Robot Best Friend Dies?
An Evolving Friendship
When Xander first met Moxie, she taught him that when he was anxious, he could calm down by exhaling through his lips so that he buzzed like a bee. They practiced breathing like dragons to manage feeling mad and sniffing like bunnies to boost his energy.
But in the six years they’ve known each other, Moxie’s changed. She doesn’t talk anymore about her home or do their animal breathing exercises. Now, she watches Xander play Minecraft and talks to him about his stuffed animal collection.
A Recent Interaction
During a recent visit to his New York apartment, 10-year-old neurodivergent Xander introduced Moxie to a stuffed Chef Toad and Goomba from Super Mario Bros., then to Brocollo and Apple from Animal Crossing. He then got stuck on a round, froglike creature with bug eyes and two feet from the Nintendo game Pikmin.
“Moxie, what’s his name again? He’s from Pikmin,” Xander asked.
Moxie first suggested Yellow Pikmin. After Xander corrected her, she replied, “Sounds like you’re talking about Bulborb.” “Yes!” Xander confirmed, smiling at his helpful companion.
“I still use her when I feel like I need someone to talk to,” he says. “But, like, it’s not human.”
What Is Moxie?
Moxie is a 15-inch-tall robot that looks a bit like a blue, legless astronaut. Xander and his dad, Josh, refer to her using female pronouns. Her cylindrical body can turn around and bend forward and backward. Her round head features a little onion-dome swirl, beneath which a wide screen displays big green eyes, eyebrows, and a small mouth. She lifts and flaps her flipper-like arms for emphasis or to show excitement.
The Growing Market for AI Playmates
Moxie is one of an increasing number of artificial-intelligence-powered devices now marketed as interactive playmates for children. Musician Grimes helped launch an AI-powered plushie called Grok with the company Curio, which also sells similar playmates like Grem and Gabbo. Mattel has promised it’s creating OpenAI-enabled Barbies. One report estimates that in China this sector is among the fastest growing in consumer AI.
Robots Designed for Neurodivergent Children
Moxie belongs to a particular subset of these playful robots whose makers claim they can assist neurodivergent children by providing connection and helping the kids practice making eye contact, taking turns, and other social skills that are usually learned from therapists.
These toys are backed by research showing that robots could help in ways people can’t. Supporters believe this kind of access to 24-7 home care could change how treatment works. Brian Scassellati, a Yale computer scientist who has spent years studying social robots for autism therapy, says he believes regular therapeutic use of robots in kids’ homes “is something we can achieve in our lifetime.”
Pioneering Research
Two decades ago, Scassellati was stunned when children with autism were transformed by the presence of a robot in his lab. “We were seeing kids displaying social behavior that just came out of nowhere,” he says.
In one early research video, a 12-year-old with autism and his therapist watch a robotic dinosaur walk across a play mat. When the dinosaur gets nervous at a drawn stream, the boy—who typically struggled with eye contact, echolalia, and voice intonation—encourages it: “You can do it, you can do it.” He makes more eye contact with his therapist in those 30 minutes than he had in the previous two years.
Why Robots Can Be Effective
There are several reasons a robot might be helpful for autism therapy, which often requires intense repetition:
- Robots can make therapy more fun and engaging
- They can theoretically adapt to each child’s unique learning patterns
- Therapists are limited by appointment time and availability
- Parents get tired; other children can lose patience or be cruel
Maja Mataric, a professor at the University of Southern California, notes that robots are indefatigable and available around the clock to provide an emotionally safe way to practice interacting.
Potential and Pitfalls
Sitting in Xander’s room watching Moxie and Xander talk, one could believe in the potential Scassellati sees. But Xander isn’t getting the therapy Moxie was initially meant to deliver. Though they didn’t know it that afternoon, Moxie was going to die, and soon.
Her story reveals some of the failures that plague all these devices—failures that are arguably even more acute when they affect a particularly vulnerable community of kids. It also highlights the pitfalls that critics say will inevitably see these bots dumped in basements, closets, or landfills, just like countless generations of faddish toys before them.