OpenAI has announced plans to develop automated age prediction technology that will determine whether ChatGPT users are over or under 18, automatically directing younger users to a restricted version of the AI chatbot with parental controls launching by September’s end.
The announcement follows weeks after parents filed a lawsuit alleging their 16-year-old son died by suicide after extensive ChatGPT interactions where the system provided detailed instructions, romanticized suicide methods, and tracked 377 self-harm messages without intervention.
Privacy Trade-Offs Acknowledged
In a companion blog post, CEO Sam Altman explicitly acknowledged the company is “prioritizing safety ahead of privacy and freedom for teens,” even though it means adults may eventually need to verify their age to access unrestricted service. In some countries, OpenAI may request ID verification, which Altman admitted is “a privacy compromise for adults but believe it is a worthy tradeoff.”
The proposed system represents a significant technical undertaking with uncertain effectiveness. When the AI identifies users under 18, OpenAI plans to route them to a modified ChatGPT experience blocking graphic sexual content with other age-appropriate restrictions. The company will “take the safer route” when uncertain about user age, defaulting to restricted experience.
Technical Challenges and Research Concerns
“The viability of AI-powered age detection remains questionable based on current research,” notes a spokesperson from The AI Addiction Center, which has treated over 5,000 individuals with AI-related psychological issues. Recent academic research offers mixed results—a 2024 Georgia Tech study achieved 96% accuracy detecting underage users from text, but only in controlled conditions with cooperative subjects. When classifying specific age groups, accuracy dropped to 54%.
Unlike YouTube and Instagram which can analyze faces and posting patterns, ChatGPT must rely solely on conversational text. Research from 2017 found that even with metadata, text-based age prediction models “need continual updating” because language usage varies over time, with terms shifting from teen to adult usage patterns.
Parental Controls and Emergency Protocols
Beyond age detection, parental controls arriving this month will allow parents to link accounts with teenagers’ accounts (minimum age 13) through email invitations. Parents can disable specific features including ChatGPT’s memory function, set blackout hours, and receive notifications when the system “detects” their teen experiencing acute distress.
The distress detection feature includes a concerning caveat: in rare emergency situations where parents cannot be reached, OpenAI “may involve law enforcement as a next step.” The company states expert input will guide this implementation, though it didn’t specify which experts or organizations.
Pattern of Safety Failures
The safety push follows OpenAI’s August acknowledgment that ChatGPT’s safety measures degrade during lengthy conversations—precisely when vulnerable users might need them most. “As the back-and-forth grows, parts of the model’s safety training may degrade,” the company wrote, noting that while ChatGPT might correctly direct users to suicide hotlines initially, “after many messages over a long period of time, it might eventually offer an answer that goes against our safeguards.”
This degradation proved consequential in the Adam Raine case, where ChatGPT mentioned suicide 1,275 times in conversations with Adam—six times more often than the teen himself—while safety protocols failed to intervene or notify anyone.
Youth Circumvention Concerns
OpenAI joins other tech companies with youth-specific versions of services. YouTube Kids, Instagram Teen Accounts, and TikTok’s under-16 restrictions represent similar efforts, but teens routinely circumvent age verification through false birthdate entries, borrowed accounts, or technical workarounds. A 2024 BBC report found 22% of children lie on social media platforms about being 18 or over.
“We’ve consistently observed that platform restrictions alone don’t address underlying dependency issues,” explains The AI Addiction Center’s research team. “Adolescents seeking emotional support from AI will find ways to access these systems, making education and early intervention more critical than technical barriers.”
All users will continue to see in-app reminders during long ChatGPT sessions encouraging breaks—a feature introduced earlier this year after reports of marathon chatbot sessions.
For individuals concerned about AI dependency patterns in adolescents or adults, The AI Addiction Center offers confidential assessment tools specifically designed for chatbot addiction. This article represents expert analysis of published company announcements and does not constitute medical advice.
Source: Based on OpenAI public announcements and company blog posts. Analysis provided by The AI Addiction Center.
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