The partnership’s launch comes after OpenAI said that it would participate in Common Sense’s new framework, launched in September, for ratings and reviews designed to assess the safety, transparency, ethical use and impact of AI products.
OpenAI hopes to win the trust of parents — and policymakers — by partnering with organizations that work to minimize tech and media harm to kids, preteens, and teens.
OpenAI partnered with Common Sense Media, the nonprofit organization that reviews and ranks the suitability of various media and tech for kids, to collaborate on AI guidelines and education materials for parents, educators and young adults.
As a part of the partnership, OpenAI will work with Common Sense Media to curate “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 standards, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says.
“AI offers incredible benefits for families and teens, and our partnership with Common Sense will further strengthen our safety work, ensuring that families and teens can use our tools confidently,” Altman added in a canned statement.
The partnership’s launch came after OpenAI said it would participate in Common Sense’s new framework, launched in September, for ratings and reviews designed to assess AI products’ safety, transparency, ethical use, and impact. Common Sense’s framework aims to produce a “nutrition label” for AI-powered apps, according to Common Sense co-founder and CEO James Steyer, toward shedding light on the contexts in which the apps are used and highlight areas of potential opportunity and harm against a set of “common sense” tenets.
In a press release, Steyer alluded that today’s parents remain generally less knowledgeable about GenAI tools — for example, OpenAI’s viral AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT — than younger generations. An Impact Research poll commissioned by Common Sense Media late last year found that 58% of students aged 12 to 18 have used ChatGPT compared to 30% of parents of school-aged children.
“Together, Common Sense and OpenAI will work to make sure that AI has a positive impact on all teens and families,” Steyer said in an emailed statement. “Our guides and curation will be designed to educate families and educators about safe, responsible use of [OpenAI tools like] ChatGPT so that we can collectively avoid any unintended consequences of this emerging technology.”
OpenAI’s under pressure from regulators to show that its GenAI-powered apps, including ChatGPT, are a boon for society — not a detriment. Just last summer, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into OpenAI over whether ChatGPT harmed consumers by collecting data and publishing false statements about individuals. European data authorities have also expressed concern over OpenAI’s handling of private information.
OpenAI, like all GenAI tools, tends to make things up and get basic facts wrong confidently. And they’re biased — a reflection of the data used to train them.
Kids and teens, aware of the tools’ limitations or lack thereof, are increasingly turning to them for help with schoolwork and personal issues. According to a poll from the Center for Democracy and Technology, 29% of kids report having used ChatGPT to deal with anxiety or mental health issues, 22% for issues with friends, and 16% for family conflicts.
