Subj : ChatGPT will guess if youre a teen and start acting like a chaper
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Thu Sep 18 2025 01:15:07

ChatGPT will guess if youre a teen and start acting like a chaperone

Date:
Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Description:
OpenAI is rolling out age prediction and parental controls to give teens a 
safer version of ChatGPT.

FULL STORY
======================================================================ChatGPT 
will begin estimating users' ages based on conversation patterns Those 
identified as teens will be shunted to a filtered, teen-specific experience 
Parents will have new tools to link accounts, set usage limits, and receive 
alerts about their teens mental state 

OpenAI is making ChatGPT act like a bouncer at a club, estimating your age 
before deciding to let you in. The AI won't be using your (possibly made-up) 
birthdate or ID, but how you interact with the chatbot. 

If the system suspects youre under 18, it will automatically shift you into a 
more restricted version of the chatbot designed specifically to protect 
teenagers from inappropriate content. And if its unsure, it's going to err on 
the side of caution. If you want the adult version of ChatGPT back, you might 
have to prove youre old enough to buy a lottery ticket. 

The idea that generative AI shouldnt treat everyone the same is certainly 
understandable. Especially with teens increasingly using AI, OpenAI has to 
consider the unique set of risks involved. The teen-specific ChatGPT 
experience will limit discussions of topics like sexual content and offer 
more delicate handling of topics like depression and self-harm. And while 
adults can still talk about those topics in context, teen users will see far 
more Sorry, I cant help with that messages when wading into sensitive areas. 

To figure out your age, ChatGPT will comb through your conversation and look 
for patterns that indicate age, specifically that someone is under 18. 
ChatGPT's guesses of your age might come from the types of questions you ask, 
your writing style, how you respond to being corrected, or even which emoji 
you prefer. If you set off its adolescent alarm bells, into the 
age-appropriate mode you go. 

You might be 27 and asking about career change anxiety, but if you type like 
a moody high schooler, you might get told to talk to your parents about your 
spiraling worries. 

OpenAI has admitted there might be mistakes, as  "even the most advanced 
systems will sometimes struggle to predict age. In those cases, theyll 
default to the safer mode and offer ways for adults to prove their age and 
regain access to the adult version of ChatGPT. Emotionally safe models 

This new age-prediction system is the centerpiece of OpenAIs next phase of 
teen-safety improvements. There will also be new parental controls coming 
later this month. These tools will let parents link their own accounts with 
their kids, limit access during certain hours, and receive alerts if the 
system detects what it calls acute distress. 

Depending on how serious the situation seems and whether parents can't be 
reached, OpenAI may even contact law enforcement agencies based on the 
conversation. 

Making ChatGPT a teen guidance counselor through built-in content filters is 
a notable shift on its own. Doing so without the user opting in is an even 
bigger swing since it means the AI not only decides how old you are, but how 
your experience should differ from an adult's ChatGPT conversation. 

So if ChatGPT starts getting more cautious or oddly sensitive, you should 
check to see if you've suddenly been tagged as a teen. You might just have a 
creative or youthful writing style, but you'll still need to prove you're 
legally an adult if you want to have edgier discussions. 

Maybe just talk about your back hurting for no reason or how music isn't as 
good as it used to be to convince the AI of your aged credentials. You might 
also like Character.AI won't let its chatbots get romantic with teenagers 
anymore I use ChatGPT to help with parenting - here's 5 prompts you can use 
AI to keep the kids entertained Here's how ChatGPT parental controls will 
work, and it might just be the AI implementation parents have been waiting for



======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/chatgpt/chatgpt-will-guess-i
f-youre-a-teen-and-start-acting-like-a-chaperone-if-so


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