BONUS - The AI Elf That’s Freaking Out Parents This Holiday Season

AI is taking over EVERYTHING, from chatbot crushes to fake artists topping the music charts, but this new holiday trend might be the creepiest yet. Parents are buying an AI‑powered version of Elf on the Shelf… and experts say it’s turning a cute tradition into full‑on surveillance. Is it harmless fun or nightmare fuel? This episode breaks down the viral AI toy dividing families, why some parents swear by it, and why psychologists say no one should use it.

---

You can find every podcast we have, including the full show every weekday right here…

➡︎ https://thejubalshow.com/podcasts

---

The Jubal Show is everywhere, and also these places:

• Website ➡︎ https://thejubalshow.com 
• Instagram ➡︎ https://instagram.com/thejubalshow 
• X/Twitter ➡︎ https://twitter.com/thejubalshow 
• Tiktok ➡︎ https://www.tiktok.com/@the.jubal.show
• Facebook ➡︎ https://facebook.com/thejubalshow 
• YouTube ➡︎ https://www.youtube.com/@JubalFresh

Support the show: https://the-jubal-show.beehiiv.com/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
AI is getting out of control. It's a jewel show.
From people falling in love with their chatbots to AI
music artists now topping the charts instead of real people.
It's getting ridiculous. And there's a new holiday trend that
parents are doing and it involves AI. Some parents say
it's great and others say it's creepy, and almost every
expert says no parents should use this. Oh no, what

(00:21):
AI technology is everybody freaking about right now? This holiday
season will tell you right after this, it's the jewel show.
There's a form of AI that's terrorizing families this so
holiday season. It's a jewel show. And that might sound
a little dramatic, but it's true. AI is used for
everything these days. Soon humans won't ever have to actually
think about anything, which is cool because none of us

(00:43):
will have jobs where we need to think anyway, because
AI were doing everything. But this year, one holiday classic
tradition is getting an AI makeover, and it has some
families completely creeped out and some experts saying no parents
should use this. Okay, what is it? Well, it's an
update on the l FA on the shelf.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Oh no, wait with AI?

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, how parents have started using new Elf on the
shelf technology called the AI ELF Surveillance System. It's sweeping
across American households. It's basically the Elf on the shelf,
but it's a new AI powered smart ELF that watches,
records and emotionally analyzes their children's behavior around the cloth.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Oh why well, okay, what do you mean?

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Wait? Why do say? Well?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, like in theory, I don't like the idea of
something watching my child or me, but maybe it would
be kind of a fun thing if they say, like
if it has like a cute tell like when you
were sleeping and you turn to the right, that means
you're really generous.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
The AI versions of the Elf on the shelf, well,
the most popular one goes for three hundred dollars whoa,
and it's equipped with facial recognition, a mood detector, and
a built in speaker that offers encouragement and also some
parents say judgment and unsettling compliments. So that's a little
freaky document. And you compare it to work with your

(02:02):
home items too, so your Alexa or any other smart
devices can also work with those. According to the manufacturer,
the elf learns your child's behavioral patterns and can report
naughty or nice things directly to Santa's cloud server in
real time.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
No not how you communicate that to your kid. Santa's
server is gonna know if you've been naughty or nice.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
This sounds like the movie Megan, and they did not
end well in that movie.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
We're talking about an update on the Elf on the Shelf,
where parents this year are now buying AI versions of
the Elf on the Shelf. One mother said that she
walked in and the Elf told her son that he
was sixty eight percent nice today but trending down. And
then it said to the mom, don't worry, I've already
emailed Santa. Oh wow.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
So they're essentially hiring a bully for their child, and
reports are also emerging that some families Ails have started
taking their jobs too seriously.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
One mom in Ohio claimed that her Elf actually locked
the fridge because it compared with your other smart items.
It actually locked the fridge because she told her daughter
she couldn't have anything from the refrigerator before dinner.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Say it.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Elf was like I got this and the fridge my bad.
We are kind of cool. Another family cool that was
that cool.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Because it's like if I tell you can't have anything
before dinner because you're gonna spoil your dinner. You're not
gonna have anything, and you're gonna try to go behind
my back when I'm not looking.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Try again, I'm being a kid. I would already be
scared of the Elvis's shelf if I was a kid
and had it around, you know, because it's watching me
all the time. They're playing back to Santa and yeah,
you know. But if it was like that and could
actually lock the refrigerator and it was watching me at
all times and recording my every move and knew what
my mood was, I was scary. Would that be?

Speaker 2 (03:40):
But it feels like such a bully though. It makes
me feel like why can't I eat? Are you calling
me fat? Like what are you saying?

Speaker 1 (03:46):
Listen?

Speaker 2 (03:46):
I had an an to tell me not to eat more,
and so now this little elf on the shelf is
reminding me of that uncle that said you can't have second.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
We're not telling you can't eat more, you just can't
eat before dinner so you don't spoil your dinner.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Well, you just left the fridge.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
And that says like we're talking about a new AI
version and versions of the elf on the shelf that
are being sold that families are using, and some people
are reporting big problems with them. Another family said their
elf refused to go to sleep mode and instead began
reading the children's search history out loud every night.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
For good for my kids?

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Who can this watch in real life? Well if you heard.
A couple said that there's started suggesting behavioral improvements for
them as well. One woman said it told her that
that she'd been interrupting her husband too much and offered
a couple of therapy coupons.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Oh so yeah, hello, Wow?

Speaker 1 (04:41):
What used to reach like a fun game?

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Like you just you find it in the next day
at somewhere eld right, Like why is just by a
surveillance camera?

Speaker 1 (04:48):
That right? Because this is creepy. Child psychologists are already
calling the trend horrifying and say that it's teaching kids
to associate love with surveillance. Yeah, but despite that, sales
are still booming for the AI elf on a shelf
that can work with all of your smart devices and
malfunctioning one on TikTok. Some parents are posting viral videos

(05:10):
of their rogue elves making uncomfortable comments to them and
one says Santa says, watch your macros.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
See well now he's body shame. Okay, thank you.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Another one apparently told somebody you were more or you
were more obedient last year. How creepy is that?

Speaker 3 (05:31):
But see, I feel like if they won this product
to actually soar and get like top notch, what they
need to do is they need to make like an
easy model that you can just like change out, like
right now, it's like the elf on the shelf, and
then when it comes to like Easter time, you can
make it an Easter bunny.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
It's just watching at all times like a ship you
can just stick in whatever. Yes one, a viral clip
got four point seven million views. It shows a mom
screaming as her elf whispered, I know when you're awake
because I woke you up.