Samsung releases update to make its Bixby assistant safer for kids

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Samsung is making its conversational AI assistant safer for children. Through a new update, Bixby is now available for child accounts on Samsung devices and can provide kid-friendly content and respond to queries in an age-appropriate manner.

The Bixby Operation Team confirmed that the feature is now available only in the USA and South Korea but intends to release Bixby for kids in more countries. The process will be gradual, and as of now, there is no precise timeframe or roadmap.

How is Bixby different for kids?

Bixby for kids can be enabled through a Samsung account after creating a family group and setting up a child account. Samsung's official announcement claims that the feature is available for children under 13, although this age limit might differ by country.

This version of Bixby for children is virtually the same as the version adults can access, except that it curates content for children. For example, kids can ask Bixby questions, and the conversational AI will reply with age-appropriate responses.

Bixby for kids can also tell stories, play music, and allow kids to play kid-friendly games. Judging by how the Samsung Kids feature works in One UI, it's safe to assume that the mobile games for kids provided by Bixby are ad-free, don't track your child's activity, and prevent unwanted monetary transactions. Samsung's announcement also mentions that the recent Bixby update applied functional improvements and bug fixes.

As to what might come next for Bixby, recent reports indicate that Samsung might be considering bringing advanced language model capabilities to its AI. The company is looking at tools such as ChatGPT as an example of what it could do with its conversational AI next and how these technologies could improve the user experience. Samsung has an AI R&D division open to collaborating with tech firms in the AI field for future advancements.

Mihai Matei - Senior Editor

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First Samsung device: SGH-A800

Mihai is a blogger and column writer at SamMobile. His first Samsung phone was an A800 which took a lot of beating, and a part of him still misses the novelty of the clamshell design. In his free time, he enjoys watching shows, documentaries, and stand-up comedy; listening to music, taking walks, and occasionally playing old(er) video games.