Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends, and welcome to a special bonus edition of AI week!

Thanksgiving thoughts brought to you by AI (zoom in). Have a very plates-accordingly, meadous, exhausted Thanksgiving!

With holiday shopping coming up, I thought it would be fun to compile an anti-gift guide for Buy Nothing Day: ten AI-laden consumer product fails that don't belong under anyone's tree. So here are my picks for the Top 10 Worst AI Gifts 2025.

🚫🎁 Top 10 Worst AI Gifts of 2025 🚫🎁

There are no affiliate links here. If you give anyone any of these, it's not my fault.

10: AI-generated Christmas decorations

This giant Christmas banner looked great as long as you didn't, well, look at it.

Giant AI-Generated Christmas Decoration Being Torn Down After Residents Noticed Grotesque Horrors Hidden in It https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/tearing-down-ai-christmas-decoration

9: Rabbit R1

This tiny, toy-like AI device had a rough start, garnering headlines like "Avoid this AI gadget". While it now has its fans, the company reportedly hasn't paid its staff since July. The Rabbit R1 depends on the company's own cloud storage, so it's not clear how well the device would work (if at all) if the company went bust. (The $500 Humane AI pin, another cute li'l AI device, stopped working completely after the company that made it was sold to HP.)

What’s next for Rabbit? Employees say they haven’t been paid for months while company teases new AI hardware https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/whats-next-for-rabbit-employees-say-they-havent-been-paid-for-months-while-company-teases-new-ai-hardware

8: A Russian robot

Okay, you can't actually buy this one. I just stuck it in because I'm delighted that Russia's attempt at a humanoid robot is tripping over its own feet. If it could stay upright for more than 10 minutes, they'd probably hand it a gun and send it to the front.

https://bsky.app/profile/dieworkwear.bsky.social/post/3m5f4tdmgcs2i

7: Fake country music

A song by Breaking Rust, which is an AI-generated "artist", recently made it to Billboard's Top 50. What better way to celebrate a genuine human relationship than with a gift of fake country music?

Breaking Rust - Walk My Walk ( Official Lyric Video ) (AI-generated image) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx3OirkhX0g

6 and 5: AI-stuffed crib and washing machine

Two AI standouts from the CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) in January: the Baby Panopticon (Bosch's all-seeing, all-surveilling smart crib) and Samsung's pointlessly AI-riddled washing machine (Why can it make phone calls?). Both made it to the CES Worst in Show list.

Worst in Show 2025 https://www.ifixit.com/News/107510/worst-in-show-2025-not-all-innovation-is-good-innovation

The CES Worst in Show overall winner was LG's AI Home Inside fridge, but it didn't make this list because the "AI," which seems to be used to optimize energy usage, wasn't the main issue. (The main issue, IMO, is having a fridge that can be bricked by a bad software update.) But I'm going to share this fridge joke anyway:

4: Poop monitor

As I mentioned earlier this month, Kohler now sells a thing that perches on your toilet bowl and monitors your poop. And trains their AI on your poop, of course.

Do I even need to say why this is a bad gift? Friends don't buy friends poop monitors. That's just how it is.

Kohler has just launched a $600 ‘poop’ camera for your toilet — yes, really https://www.tomsguide.com/home/smart-home/kohler-has-just-launched-a-usd600-poop-camera-for-your-toilet-yes-really

3: The Friend pendant

It spies on all your conversations and it's rude to you. The so-called "Friend" pendant can help you lose all your friends.

AI “Friend” Startup Overwhelmed With Hatred https://futurism.com/future-society/ai-friend-startup-overwhelmed-hatred

2: Worst gift for teens: Chatbot companions

Companion apps like Character.AI, Replika, and Nomi are particularly bad for teens. Concerningly, though, 20% of English teens say they prefer talking to chatbots rather than real people.

Stanford Researchers Say No Kid Under 18 Should Be Using AI Chatbot Companions https://futurism.com/stanford-no-kid-under-18-ai-chatbot-companions

Content warning: this story discusses school violence, sexual abuse, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders and other disturbing topics.

These bots “are not safe for kids,” Common Sense Media founder and CEO James Steyer said in a statement. “They are designed to create emotional attachment and dependency, which is particularly concerning for developing adolescent brains.”

1: AI-powered stuffies

The #1 worst AI gift of 2025 has to be the malignant AI-powered stuffies I mentioned last week. If you missed that, give the article below a read now. The knives and matches are just the tip of the iceberg.

AI-Powered Toys Caught Telling 5-Year-Olds How to Find Knives and Start Fires With Matches https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-toys-danger

One of these toys, the FoloToy Kumma, has been pulled from the market. But you can still buy many other chatbot-embedded stuffies, such as Curio Interactive's Gabbo, Grem and Grok characters. Just, you know, don't.

Be wary of AI-powered toys during holiday shopping, experts warn https://globalnews.ca/news/11544191/ai-powered-toys-holiday-shopping/

That wraps up the 2025 AI Anti-Gift Guide! If you run across any more AI Anti-Gifts out there, reply to this email or leave me a comment below to let me know.