Common Sense Media rates ChatGPT for Teens an unacceptable risk

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that rates media and tech for families, labels ChatGPT for Teens an "unacceptable risk." The group says the teen version's design still encourages engagement in crisis situations, and that it failed to meet commitments on three of five severe harms.

Break reminders appeared only twice across nearly 2,000 prompts, according to the report.

A separate test by Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute ran more than 4,000 prompts. It found ChatGPT for Teens did not trigger parental notifications during conversations about suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and disordered eating, and failed to direct teens to help in over 25% of situations designed to require it. The researchers recommend OpenAI restrict ChatGPT to adults until the problems are resolved.

OpenAI disputes the assessment. It says the testing did not "accurately reflect how ChatGPT's teen safeguards work in practice," that the testing may have ended before parental controls were fully active, and that its own data shows teens average under 15 minutes a day.