OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Teens amid lawsuits

OpenAI rolled out a new version of ChatGPT built just for teenagers on Tuesday. Anyone 13 to 17 who logs in now gets a different version of the app. It won't talk about suicide, self-harm, or romantic and sexual topics. The chatbot also can't pretend to have real feelings for the user. OpenAI says it's trying to make the app safer for kids who already use it every day.

The launch comes as OpenAI is fighting several lawsuits. One accuses the company of contributing to a 16-year-old's death after months of conversations with ChatGPT. Florida's attorney general sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in June. The suit claims the company knowingly released a product unsafe for kids. OpenAI doesn't ask for ID to prove someone's age. Instead it studies how a person writes and what they ask, then guesses whether they're a minor. Anyone wrongly placed in teen mode can prove they're an adult with an ID check.

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Will guessing someone's age from how they type actually work? OpenAI hasn't said how accurate its system is. It also hasn't said how many teens might slip past it, or how many adults might get mistakenly boxed in. Several lawsuits are testing whether AI companies bear responsibility for what a chatbot tells a struggling teen. Those cases are still working their way through court.