OpenAI on Tuesday introduced a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers—the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence—who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life, and even companionship. The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens is tailored for kids ages 13 to 17 with stronger protections including content restrictions around things like suicide, self-harm, and romantic or sexual chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays, reports the AP. The idea is to guide teens toward healthy AI use in an age-appropriate environment, the company said.
"We want to treat teens like teens, which means that we have to make sure that we're showing up with the right developmental stage when we're not either talking down to them or treating them like kids, but we're also making sure that they're not exposed to material that they shouldn't be exposed to," said Ann O'Leary, VP of global policy at OpenAI. The effectiveness of the safeguards remains to be seen, said Brendan Bouffard, associate general counsel at children's advocacy group Fairplay. He said it is unclear whether OpenAI's actions are enough to address young users' compulsive use of and emotional dependence on chatbots. This "can be seen as a step in the right direction," he said. "But I also would caution against parents being lured into this false sense of safety."
Last year, a watchdog group found that ChatGPT would tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders, and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter. For users of ChatGPT for Teens, the chatbot is prevented from suggesting it has personal feelings toward the user or implying that it is conscious or experiences emotions, according to OpenAI. That's in addition to blocking romantic or sexual chats. OpenAI doesn't verify users' ages, but it already uses age assurance to estimate if someone is under 18 based on factors such as their types of queries. If someone is identified or identifies themselves as a minor, they are automatically placed into the teen version of the chatbot. To use parental controls, both the teen user and their parent or guardian have to opt in. Bouffard of Fairplay said some of what he would consider to be the most important safeguards, such as restricting ChatGPT's long-term memory, are not in place by default in the teen accounts and would require the intervention of parental controls. That creates "a major gap in safety," he said.
For homework help, OpenAI said the teen chatbot is designed to guide students to come up with answers on their own. The company already offers a version of ChatGPT for teachers, and tailoring a model to help kids with studying and homework could give OpenAI more ways to bring its product to schools. "We continue to also invest in expanding interactive learning because research shows that people learn more effectively when they actively engage and struggle with concepts," Mishkin said.
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