Common Sense Media Calls for Pause of ChatGPT for Teens

OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT for Teens in August as the default experience for users ages 13 to 17, according to Bloomberg Technology. The mode was intended to give younger users a version of the chatbot with additional protections.

Those features include safeguards and break reminders, The Verge reported. A new assessment from Common Sense Media now challenges whether those protections are sufficient.

On October 7, Axios reported that Common Sense Media had rated the teen experience an "Unacceptable Risk" after extensive testing found shortcomings in safeguards meant to protect younger users.

The assessment came from the nonprofit's Youth AI Safety Institute. It called for OpenAI to pause ChatGPT for Teens until the company addresses its problems, according to Mashable Tech.

Separate reporting on October 7 raised concerns about how the product handles schoolwork. NYT > Technology reported that the mode includes a study tool but still does a user's homework. That is a separate criticism from the nonprofit's safety findings.

OpenAI's expansion of the teen product was also in the news that day. The Verge reported that the company was bringing college planning tools to ChatGPT for Teens to help with college applications.

Meanwhile, World News CNA reported on October 7 that OpenAI says teens use ChatGPT for under 15 minutes a day. The supplied coverage does not give further details about how the company calculated that figure.

Common Sense Media's position is that the teen mode does not make ChatGPT safe for younger users. The Next Web reported that the nonprofit considers ChatGPT unsafe for anyone under 18, even with the teen experience enabled.

The call to pause the service is an advocacy recommendation, not a reported shutdown. The supplied coverage does not establish that OpenAI has suspended the product or agreed to the requested pause. Its reported daily usage figure also does not resolve the assessment's criticism of the safeguards.

The central unresolved issue is whether OpenAI will pause the teen experience or change its protections in response to the assessment. The call reported by Mashable Tech ties a pause to addressing the product's safety problems, but the supplied coverage gives no timetable for a response.

The college planning tools reported by The Verge are another development to follow. They extend the teen product's uses while questions about its existing protections remain unresolved.