The tragedy of a teenager’s death after interacting with ChatGPT has pressured OpenAI into making significant security changes. Parental Control is now being introduced on the platform.
The feature is live as of Monday, and it allows parents to set limits on how their children use ChatGPT. For example, parents can now block access to sensitive topics, set daily limits on how much time the kids are allowed to spend on the platform, and even review their chat history with the bot, thus ensuring conversations are safe.
The new feature also allows parents to be notified if ChatGPT spots signs of distress in their child’s conversations. Firstly, the bot itself should detect signs of distress, which should later be followed by a human reviewer who will decide whether the case is worth reporting to the parents.
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These alerts can be received via email, text messages, or a notification from the ChatGPT app.
“We have felt urgency around this for a while,” said Lauren Jonas, OpenAI’s head of youth wellbeing, to Bloomberg.
According to Jonas, these alerts are meant to provide just enough information about the conversation with the bot to encourage parents to talk with their kids. She claims that the company will not share conversations with parents.
What other ChatGPT features can now be controlled by mom and dad?
To be extra cautious, parents can set specific time frames when kids can access the bot, and control over things like:
- Giving kids access to ChatGPT’s voice mode
- The ability to generate images
- Permitting the chatbot to reference past conversations
- Allowing the kids to use a chatbot version that is designed to show less information on often sensitive topics, such as hate speech, dieting, or sex.
All of these measures can be activated in ChatGPT’s settings. An adult ChatGPT user can now send an email request to their kids, and when they accept it, the parents can customize the bot settings to their liking.
In addition, OpenAI is now working on software to predict a user’s age, as the tool is meant for people who are 13 or older.
Why is ChatGPT introducing Parental Control?
OpenAI has been under pressure since the death of Adam Raine – a California high school student who had received specific instruction and encouragement from ChatGPT to take his own life. After the passing of the young man, his parents sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman.
In this case, the family claims that ChatGPT systematically isolated their son from reaching out to family and loved ones and, instead, assisted in planning his suicide.
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