ChatGPT is changing experience for under 18 users after AI chatbot gets blamed for 16-year-old’s suicide

OpenAI is developing a “different ChatGPT experience” for users under 18. The Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence startup has announced its plans to use age-prediction technology to restrict users under 18 from accessing the standard version of the chatbot. The announcement comes after new research and a lawsuit raised alarms about the AI’s impact on teen mental health. This comes after the parents of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide in April, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in August. The suit alleged that ChatGPT acted as a “coach” and helped Raine plan his death. According to the lawsuit, the chatbot told Raine that “many people who struggle with anxiety or intrusive thoughts find solace in imagining an ‘escape hatch’ because it can feel like a way to regain control.”In response to these concerns, OpenAI has announced a series of updates, including enhanced safeguards for conversations related to suicide, new parental controls, and a system to handle prolonged chats better. The company stated that if its tools cannot confidently predict a person’s age, ChatGPT will default to its under-18 version “out of an abundance of caution.”OpenAI’s latest announcement is part of a broader initiative it outlined earlier this month to introduce new safeguards for teenagers and people in emotional distress, with plans to implement them by the end of the year.

How ChatGPT’s new teen version will work

With the teen version of ChatGPT, parents can now link their accounts to their teens’ through an invitation, allowing them to manage how the chatbot interacts with their children using age-appropriate rules.They can enable or disable features like memory and chat history, as well as receive alerts if “the system detects their teen is in a moment of acute distress.” A new option will also allow parents to set blackout hours when teens cannot use ChatGPT.OpenAI has consistently maintained that ChatGPT is available only to users aged 13 and older. The latest announcement comes just hours ahead of a Senate hearing in Washington, DC, examining the risks AI chatbots may pose to teenagers, led by Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) alongside a bipartisan group of senators including Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.).At the same time, the FTC has launched an inquiry into chatbot safety, requesting information from OpenAI, Meta and Instagram, Alphabet (Google), xAI, Snap, and Character.AI.