> How is roleplay with this object different than other toys?
Traditional role play is driven by the child and their imagination, and is essentially free of constraints. This is driven by the technology, follows a narrow script, and only allows for a single mode of engagement. Not saying that makes it good or bad, but they're clearly 2 different modes of play.
> If you get lost in a D&D game is that bad because the world isn't real
D&D is fundamentally a social activity (by definition, you can't play D&D alone)...
> Getting lost in Myst
...enjoying a piece of art built by a creative team with an artistic vision...
> making Doom WADs
... an open ended, constructive activity that exercises various skills and that gives you something to share/show for it.
Do you really not see how all of the above are fundamentally different from interacting with this black box that pretends to be something it's not (a human voice), is fundamentally extractive because of the technology it runs on (pay more for more time with it), not to get into the fact that a) the data gets siphoned off to a corporation with its own profit motives and b) there is absolutely 0 guarantee that the simulation can't go off rails?
> These 'LLM Role play' toys have hit a real fun spot with my kids.
Coca-Cola and McDonald's hit a real fun spot with kids as well. This on its own is a weak argument of value.
Clearly playing with this for a bit isn't going to be catastrophic for the child (although $99 for 60 minutes of play, with pay-for-more beyond that point, is a pretty darn steep asking price, if you ask me - and if the child enjoys it, it means they will be begging their parent to cough up more money for more time - a pretty poor success case for a toy. Normally once a toy is bought, infinite time can be spent with it with no further financial transaction).
Is it desirable to build a world where kids spend more time with this category of toy over others (in effect priming them for being an AI girlfriend/boyfriend app subscriber a few years down the line)?