OpenAI seeks to gain the confidence of parents and policymakers by joining forces with organizations that aim to reduce the negative effects of tech and media on children and adolescents.
To illustrate, OpenAI announced today that it has formed a partnership with Common Sense Media, the nonprofit organization that evaluates and rates the appropriateness of various media and tech for children, to work together on AI standards and educational resources for parents, educators and young adults.
As part of the partnership, OpenAI will collaborate with Common Sense Media to select “family-friendly” GPTs — chatbot apps powered by OpenAI’s GenAI models — in the GPT Store, OpenAI’s GPT marketplace, based on Common Sense’s rating and evaluation criteria, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says.
“AI provides amazing opportunities for families and teens, and our partnership with Common Sense will enhance our safety efforts, ensuring that families and teens can use our tools with trust,” Altman added in a prepared statement.
The launch of the partnership follows OpenAI’s announcement that it would take part in Common Sense’s new framework, launched in September, for ratings and reviews designed to measure the safety, transparency, ethical use and impact of AI products. Common Sense’s framework aims to create a “nutrition label” for AI-powered apps, according to Common Sense co-founder and CEO James Steyer, to reveal the contexts in which the apps are used and highlight areas of potential benefit and harm against a set of “common sense” principles.
Steyer hinted in a press release that parents today are generally less aware of GenAI tools — such as OpenAI’s popular AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT — than younger generations. A survey by Impact Research, sponsored by Common Sense Media, showed that 58% of students aged 12 to 18 have tried ChatGPT, while only 30% of parents of school-aged children have done so.
Steyer said in a press release that Common Sense and OpenAI will collaborate to ensure that AI has a beneficial impact on all families and teens. “Our curation and guides will aim to teach families and educators how to use [OpenAI tools like] ChatGPT safely and responsibly, so that we can all prevent any unwanted outcomes of this new technology.”
Regulators are putting pressure on OpenAI to prove that its GenAI-powered apps, such as ChatGPT, are good for society — not harmful to it. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into OpenAI last summer over whether ChatGPT hurt consumers by collecting data and publishing false statements about individuals. European data regulators have also raised concerns over OpenAI’s handling of private information.
OpenAI’s tools, like all GenAI tools, often make up things confidently and get basic facts wrong. And they’re biased — a result of the data that was used to train them.
Children and teens, whether they know the tools’ limitations or not, are using them more and more for help with not only schoolwork but personal issues. A survey by the Center for Democracy and Technology showed that 29% of children have used ChatGPT to cope with anxiety or mental health issues, 22% for problems with friends and 16% for family disputes.