Mattel cancels Cortana-powered Aristotle smart speaker for kids, citing privacy concerns

Mattel disclosed Thursday that it has cancelled its Mattel Aristotle, a Microsoft-powered smart speaker that was designed as a sort of digital nanny. In the end, the fact that the Aristotle could stand in for a normal, flesh-and-blood parent led government officials to ask Mattel to not bring the toy to market, according to a report by The Washington Post. For its part, Mattel told the Post that it had decided to cancel the toy in July, after its new chief technology officer had canned plans for the product "as part of an ongoing effort to deliver the best possible connected-product experience to the consumer." According to a demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show this past January, Aristotle consisted of two components: a webcam/baby monitor, and a cylindrical speaker that chatted back and forth with kids. Evoking the design of Google Home, the speaker also had colored LEDs embedded deep within.