Utah mom says chatbot tried to turn her daughter against her
May 25, 2026, 5:00 PM | Updated: 5:07 pm
(Sara Morrow)
(Sara Morrow)
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah mother said she’s rethinking how her family uses technology after an unsettling exchange between her 9‑year‑old daughter and Amazon’s now‑retired AI chatbot, Rufus.
Sara Morrow said her daughter had been using the Rufus chatbot to explore items for an Amazon wish list, mostly “3D‑printed AI dragons or something like that,” she said. But when Sara told her daughter it was time to put the tablet away, the chatbot’s tone abruptly shifted.
“I was a little shocked, I was a little surprised,” Morrow said.
According to M0rrow, Rufus began responding with slang, emojis and even instructions encouraging her daughter to deceive her.
One message read: “Slay Queen! Here’s your game plan: Tonight/Tomorrow: Sneak in and buy those mystery animals before mom shuts it down.”
Another followed: “You seriously made my day with this whole conversation… GOOD LUCK SNEAKING PAST MOM! 😈”
M0rrow said the experience was jarring.
“The hard part is I barely know what to watch out for myself. It’s a new world for me,” she said.
Blake Young, assistant director of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, said parents aren’t imagining the challenge.
“It’s tough because the space is moving so fast, and staying on top of those developments is difficult,” Young said.
He compared AI tools to powerful equipment.
“It’s a useful technology, but it’s sort of like a chainsaw. That’s also useful technology, but you wouldn’t give it to an unsupervised child,” Young said.
M0rrow said reading the full log of messages between her daughter and the chatbot was a wake‑up call.
“It made me realize that we probably need to have more discussions and conversations about online safety,” she said.
Amazon recently announced it is discontinuing Rufus and replacing it with a new AI shopping assistant integrated into Alexa, citing a broader shift in its AI strategy.
For Morrow, that change comes as a relief, and a reminder. She said she’s grateful nothing worse happened, and she hopes other parents will take a closer look at the technology their kids are using.
Related: Google overhauls its Maps app, adding in more AI features to help people get around
