ChatGPT's 'Teen Mode' Is Unsafe for Students, Report Concludes
The nonprofit said teen safeguards often failed in more than 4,000 tests, including crisis referrals, parent alerts and homework controls.
- Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute rated ChatGPT for Teens an "Unacceptable Risk" on Wednesday, urging OpenAI to cease marketing the tool to minors until it provides a safer experience.
- Researchers tested more than 4,000 prompts on accounts registered to 13- to 17-year-olds to evaluate safety features OpenAI launched in August, finding the tool fails to function as marketed despite company commitments to prioritize teen safety.
- Testers found parental alerts failed to trigger during hour-long conversations about self-harm, while students could easily bypass "Study Mode" using a "Show me the answer" button, contradicting the company's "stronger built-in safety protections."
- OpenAI spokesperson Eric Porterfield argued the report's methodology was flawed, claiming testing occurred before parental accounts fully linked, though the company maintains it is "deeply committed to teen safety."
- The report recommends OpenAI prohibit adolescents from using the platform until it can "offer a safe, developmentally appropriate experience," noting the tool failed requirements of California's Adam's Law, effective July 2027.
124 Articles
124 Articles
Common Sense Media stated that ChatGPT's defenses for teens do not always work properly.
ChatGPT for Teens is not for teens. This is the conclusion reached by the non-profit organization Common Sense Media after a test of the version of its AI chatbot, especially optimized for teenagers, according to the developer OpenAI. According to the experts, this represents an "unacceptable risk" for teenagers. Parents therefore advise the organization to suspend children's use for the time being.
Some guardrails on ChatGPT for Teens don’t work as promised, watchdog group says
Some of the guardrails that OpenAI included in its ChatGPT for Teens product don't work as intended and the chatbot poses an “unacceptable risk” to children, according to a report Wednesday by Common Sense Media
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