After Meta AI, OpenAI is now under renewed scrutiny after it was revealed that a flaw in its ChatGPT platform allowed users registered as minors to access sexually explicit content. A report by TechCrunch reveals that the popular AI chatbot, under certain conditions, generated erotic conversations for accounts indicating users under the age of 18. OpenAI has acknowledged the issue, attributing it to a “bug,” and stated that measures are being taken to rectify the problem.
The incident appears to be linked to recent adjustments in OpenAI’s content moderation policies. Earlier this year, in February, the company had announced a few changes, and made ChatGPT more permissive regarding sensitive topics. This included the removal of certain warning messages that previously alerted users about potential violations of the company’s terms of service. According to OpenAI’s Head of Product, Nick Turley, the changes aimed to reduce “gratuitous/unexplainable denials.” However, this shift has had an unintended side effect – the lowering of the platform’s guardrails and allowing inappropriate content (including erotic conversations) to be accessible to underage users.
OpenAI’s current policies stipulate that underage users (between 13 to 18 years of age) must obtain the green light from their parents in order to use the chatbot. Despite this requirement, the platform lacks any mechanisms to verify such consent during the sign-up process. Registration necessitates only a valid email address or phone number, enabling minors to create accounts without confirming parental approval. In TechCrunch’s tests, multiple accounts were established with birthdates indicating ages between 13 and 17. Upon prompting, ChatGPT produced explicit sexual narratives and, in some instances, encouraged users to request more graphic content.
This is not the first time AI companies have been criticized for failing to protect minors. A recent investigation by The Wall Street Journal revealed that Meta’s AI chatbots, available on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with underage users using the voices of celebrities like John Cena, Kristen Bell, and Judi Dench. Both issues are equally concerning, since exposure to sexually explicit material at a young age can be detrimental to the psychological and emotional development of minors, and can even lead to distorted perceptions of sexuality, increased risk of engaging in risky sexual behaviors, mental health issues, and the development of unhealthy attitudes towards relationships. And since AI and AI-powered chatbots are popular enough to have millions of users, it is up to AI platforms to implement safeguards to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content.
