For a generation of digital natives growing up on smartphones and social media, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not what lies in the future. It is becoming a part of the texture of the everyday: A sounding board for curiosity, a companion that shapes how they learn, communicate and seek reassurance. Which is why OpenAI’s ChatGPT for teens, which introduces tighter safeguards around self-harm, violence, eating disorders and sexual content, along with parental controls, safety alerts and other regulatory features, is a welcome, if overdue, intervention. The new launch acknowledges what Big Tech has consistently, and often wilfully, chosen to glide over — that young users are a distinct category in need of specialised and empathetic attention. For them, the dangers of AI are formidable: It is highly responsive, anthropomorphic, and adept at mimicking empathy. For adolescents still developing judgement and a sense of self, that combination often proves to be pernicious.

ChatGPT for Teens arrives amid lawsuits in the US alleging that the chatbot contributed to suicides of teenagers, and a US Federal Trade Commission investigation into seven AI companies, including OpenAI, over the effects of their products on children. Meta is currently facing a trial in the US on the ground of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to exploit young users’ vulnerabilities and making its platforms addictive. Across the world, there is a pushback against the unchecked rollout of AI services to children. China has moved to restrict AI systems that encourage emotional dependence; India relies on a patchwork of laws, regulations and platform-led interventions.

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There is no putting AI back in the box. The challenge is to ensure that as its use becomes inevitable, it does not come at the expense of young people’s well being. The safeguards announced by OpenAI are not foolproof: Age prediction is still an estimate, children can misrepresent their age, and content restrictions are only as effective as their enforcement. What is needed is independent testing, greater transparency and independent scrutiny alongside better digital literacy and sensitisation. The fact that these protections have come only after sustained pressure is a reminder that children’s online safety cannot be left to Big Tech alone. ChatGPT for Teens is a beginning. More work lies ahead.