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OpenAI has seen serious cases of AI misuse by teens and the company is now making AI-centric changes to stop that.
OpenAI wants to stop kids listening to AI about suicide and other self-harming issues
OpenAI is working on a new way to identify the age of the user and if they are below 18 years, the ChatGPT experience and functions will be different from the regular version. The company has come across incidents where the minors have been offered dangerous information by the AI chatbot and it has decided that instead of training the AI model to do better, it is preventing their access to the kids and youth.
However, at the same time, OpenAI is going to become resolute with its focus on adults and treat them as adults even if it means ChatGPT provides them with self-harming content that could be labeled for ‘educational purposes.
ChatGPT To Screen Kids, Get Parental Control And More
The AI giant will deploy the technology to predict the age of the users, and if they feel the interaction with ChatGPT has some teen-like traits, the company will switch the AI chatbot to a version suited to users below 18 years of age.
I don’t expect that everyone will agree with these tradeoffs, but given the conflict it is important to explain our decisionmaking.Here is the text:
Some of our principles are in conflict, and we’d like to explain the decisions we are making around a case of tensions between…
— Sam Altman (@sama) September 16, 2025
These changes include stringent policy around content queries, parental controls to help them monitor the activity on AI chatbot and other safety measures. But like with most AI features, the age prediction tool can make mistakes, so OpenAI will give the option of providing an ID that goes beyond the present setup process but one it feels might be important, even though the privacy aspect comes into question.
ChatGPT users will also face intense scrutiny, especially for the teenagers who are found discussing topics like suicide or even attempt to flirt with the AI chatbot. The company will first reach out to the parents, if not directly contact the authorities in the domain.
OpenAI and Sam Altman are also working on ChatGPT 5 which some people have found to be too robotic and lost its human touch. The company has also introduced its affordable ChatGPT Go plan in India recently which is priced at Rs 399 per month and gives you access to GPT 5, image generation, more queries and other benefits.
S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr…Read More
S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr… Read More
September 18, 2025, 12:27 IST
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