ChatGPT is great for chatting, learning, or even talking about personal stuff. But lately, it’s become clear that some people, especially teens, are using it to talk about serious things, like mental health, sexual content, or worse. In one tragic case, a teenage boy who spent hours chatting with ChatGPT about suicide ended up taking his own life. This pushed OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, to rethink how it keeps its users safe, especially young ones. Why age verification is coming Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, explained in a blog post that the company is trying to balance three tricky goals: freedom, privacy, and safety for teens. The new solution is an age prediction system that guesses a user’s age based on how they use the chatbot. Altman says, “It’s a worthy tradeoff” to ask adults for ID sometimes if it helps keep teenagers safer. Here’s what’s planned: What’s different for teens If you’re under 18, here’s what changes: OpenAI hopes these rules will prevent more tragedies, even though it might limit some features for adults. People are using ChatGPT as a therapist More and more people, including teens, use ChatGPT to talk about personal problems like health issues or legal troubles. It feels private and judgment-free, but Sam Altman argues that AI should have privacy rules similar to those of doctors or lawyers. Still, he warns that AI isn’t perfect.A study from Stanford University found that AI therapists sometimes misunderstand crises or give wrong advice. OpenAI is also working on ‘advanced security features’ to keep your info private, even from OpenAI employees, unless serious misuse is detected, like someone planning to harm themselves or others. Keeping adult users free Altman stresses that adults should still be treated like adults. He said: Treat our adult users like adults. For example, If an adult wants to write a fictional story that includes a suicide scene, ChatGPT will help, as long as it’s clear that the context is fictional. And though flirting isn’t built in by default, adults can enable that trait if they wish. OpenAI hasn’t shared exactly when the age verification system will launch, but it’s definitely in the works.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is also investigating how safe AI companions are for young people.
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