New parental controls for one of the most popular generative AI chatbots on the web were rolled out Monday by OpenAI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company announced that controls for ChatGPT will be available to all users of the chatbot, allowing parents to link their account with their teen\u2019s account and customize settings for a safe, age-appropriate experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move comes while a lawsuit is pending in San Francisco Superior Court by the parents of Adam Raine, which alleges the 16-year-old boy committed suicide after being encouraged to do so by ChatGPT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how the controls work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To set them up, a parent or guardian sends an invite to their teen to connect accounts. After the teen accepts, the parent can manage the teen\u2019s settings from their own account. Teens can also invite a parent to connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once linked, parents can customize their teen\u2019s experience in ChatGPT in a simple control page in the account settings. If a teen unlinks their account, their parent will be notified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with the controls, OpenAI also introduced enhanced safeguards for linked teen accounts. Once parents and teens connect their accounts, the teen account will automatically get additional content protections, including reduced graphic content, viral challenges, sexual, romantic, or violent roleplay, and extreme beauty ideals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parents will have the option to turn those settings off, OpenAI explained, but teen users cannot make changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through a control page, parents will have access to these features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese parental controls are a good starting point for parents in managing their teen\u2019s ChatGPT use,\u201d Robbie Torney, senior director for AI Programs at Common Sense Media, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cParental controls are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to keeping teens safe online, though,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex Ambrose, a policy analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a research and public policy organization in Washington, D.C., maintained that parental controls are certainly a step in the right direction in addressing some of the children\u2019s online safety issues with chatbots. \u201cThat\u2019s especially true when parents have flexibility to choose the options that work best for them,\u201d she told TechNewsWorld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the same time, not every child lives in a home with parents willing or able to look out for their best interests online,\u201d she said. \u201cEven parents who have the time and skills to monitor their children\u2019s use need tools to make that easier, which is why it\u2019s great to see platforms implementing these types of systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n