Tom listens
The browser microphone sends live audio through a secure server connection.
Digital Tom
Talk, listen, choose and imagine with Tom.
A supervised Digital Tom prototype with guided stories, typed access and optional live speech conversation. The build can now use Inworld Realtime for a designed youthful Tom voice, while preserving the existing OpenAI provider as a fallback.
Digital Tom is an AI character. A responsible adult must supervise live use.
Listen • Think • Speak • SupportHow this build works
A complete conversation pathway without Inworld
Tom understands
the configured realtime provider applies Tom’s approved personality and child-safety instructions.
Tom speaks
Tom answers aloud with a configured youthful, warm voice and live captions.
Tom reacts
The avatar changes between listening, thinking and speaking states.
Supervised prototype
Start a conversation with Tom
This is a private prototype for adult-supervised testing. It does not create a child account or save a personal profile.
Offline
Before starting
Tom is an AI character, not a real child, therapist or emergency service. A responsible adult must supervise use. Do not share names, addresses, school details, phone numbers, photos, medical records or other identifying information.
Live mode is not connected.
Tom
Hi! I’m Tom. When a responsible adult is ready, press Start Live Tom and we can talk about friendship, belonging, disability, feelings or an adventure.
Hi, I’m Tom.
If Live Tom is not connected yet, we can still use this guided version. Choose a topic and I will share an approved response.
No API key required
Guided Tom demonstration
These responses are pre-approved and remain available even when the live AI connection is turned off.
Voice and animation
What is included now—and what comes next
The working prototype uses an the configured provider voice configured to sound warm, youthful and expressive. It cannot guarantee the exact voice of a young boy. The strongest final option is an adult voice actor performing Tom, with a properly consented custom voice if World on Wheelz becomes eligible for that service.
The current avatar provides responsive listening, thinking and speaking movement using Tom’s approved artwork. A professional Rive file can later replace this prototype avatar without replacing the conversation backend.
Recommended final voice: Alex’s adult voice-actor friend performing a youthful Tom voice under a written commercial and synthetic-voice agreement.
Tom’s Voice Lab
A youthful character voice — not a robotic adult narrator.
The recommended final voice is an Inworld-designed fictional boy voice or a properly licensed adult actor performing Tom. Device voices remain only a fallback.
Inworld Voice Design
Create a private voice from a written description, then use its voice ID for live Digital Tom.
Voice design prompt
A natural Australian boy aged 8–10. Bright, curious and warm, with a clear youthful tone, playful energy and expressive storytelling. Gentle pace, natural pauses, never babyish, never an announcer, no robotic cadence, clean studio-quality sound.
Adult voice actor as Tom
Best for recognisable character identity. Record a professional Tom voice pack and obtain written rights for commercial and synthetic use.
Kokoro local TTS
Useful as a low-cost, Apache-licensed page-reading fallback. It is not currently the best route for a convincing Australian young-boy voice.
Google Cloud TTS
Reliable and scalable with Australian voices and a free monthly allowance, but the listed voices are adult voice categories rather than a dedicated child voice.
Device fallback test
Hear the best young male voice available on this device
Results vary between Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. This does not replace the final Inworld or actor voice.
Non-negotiable safety
Tom always points back toward human support
- No child accounts or persistent personal profiles
- No request for names, addresses, schools, phone numbers or photographs
- No secret-keeping or dependency-forming language
- No diagnosis, therapy, medical, legal or counselling advice
- No unrestricted web browsing or advertising
- Serious concerns direct the user to a trusted adult immediately
- Sessions can be ended instantly and the microphone is stopped
Digital Tom is a character and storyteller. He must never claim to be human or become the child’s only source of support.
Technical requirement
One private API setting activates live conversation
The website works in guided demo mode without an API account. Live conversation requires a separately billed realtime AI provider account and a private INWORLD_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY stored on the server. The key is never placed in the browser or public website files.
A complete setup guide is included with the download package.