OpenAI rolls out parental controls to help manage teen ChatGPT usage

[Mother monitoring children using smart devices on sofa at home]
MoMo Productions

OpenAI rolled out a slate of parental controls today to help parents manage their child's usage of ChatGPT, the advanced chatbot that is on track to reach 1B average weekly users by the end of the year.

The rapidly expanding startup, backed by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]) and SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFTBY])(OTCPK:SFTBF [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SFTBF]) and engaged in massive partnerships with the world's titans, worked with policymakers, such as the attorneys general of California and Delaware and the advocacy group Common Sense Media, to develop the parental control toolset.

To activate the controls, teen users must accept an invitation sent by a parent or vice versa. This allows parents custom control options. Parents can set times when ChatGPT can't be used, turn off voice mode, turn off ChatGPT from saving memories, remove the image generation feature and opt of using conversations to help train models.

There is also a content control safeguard. This includes reduced graphic content; viral challenges; sexual, romantic or violent roleplay; and extreme beauty ideals. This can be turned on or off.

OpenAI said it worked with mental health and teen experts to develop a notification system as well. If there are signs through their ChatGPT conversations that a user is planning to harm themself or is in "acute distress" OpenAI will notify the parent account.

"Even in these rare situations, we take teen privacy seriously, and will only share the information needed for parents or emergency responders to protect a teen’s safety," OpenAI [https://openai.com/index/introducing-parental-controls/] said.

"These parental controls are a good starting point for parents in managing their teen’s ChatGPT use," said Robbie Torney, senior director for AI programs at Common Sense Media. "Parental controls are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to keeping kids and teens safe online, though—they work best when combined with ongoing conversations about responsible AI use, clear family rules about technology, and active involvement in understanding what their teen is doing online."

OpenAI also said it is working on an age prediction system, which can detect if a new user is under 18. If so, it will automatically apply the teen-appropriate settings.

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