OpenAI to allow mature content on ChatGPT for adult verified users starting December

The OpenAI logo appears on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen with random binary data, March 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

OpenAI will allow mature content for ChatGPT users who verify their age on the platform starting in December, CEO Sam Altman said, after the chatbot was made restrictive for users in mental distress.

“As we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults,” Altman wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

Altman said that OpenAI had made ChatGPT “pretty restrictive” to make sure it was being careful with mental health issues, though that made the chatbot “less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems.”

OpenAI has been able to mitigate mental health issues and has new tools, Altman said, adding that it is going to safely relax restrictions in most cases.

In the coming weeks, OpenAI will release a version of ChatGPT that will allow people to better dictate the tone and personality of the chatbot, Altman said.

“If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing),” according to Altman.

Earlier on Tuesday, Meta unveiled a new system to limit what users under 18 can see on Instagram and its generative AI tools, using filters inspired by the PG-13 movie rating system.

Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City