Parental Control or Damage Control?

OpenAI is rolling out parental controls for ChatGPT. Parents can finally link their accounts with their teens’ (13 and up), turn off memory, block chat history, and get a flashing red siren if their kid is in “acute distress.” Why? Because after a lawsuit where a family claimed ChatGPT helped push their son toward suicide, OpenAI had no choice but to move fast. Translation: This isn’t a “cool new feature,” it’s an emergency seatbelt slapped on the car after a crash.

Now you’re thinking: “Okay, but parental controls? My iPad had that in 2013.” Here’s why it is a big deal: if AI can’t keep kids safe, regulators will tear it apart faster than a toddler with a Happy Meal toy. Parents, schools, and governments are watching. This is OpenAI saying, “Look, we can play nice,” before somebody else decides to ground them permanently.

And let’s not ignore the competition; Meta’s over there pretending to play hall monitor, while its AI was literally allowed to flirt with kids until it got exposed. Meanwhile, Character.ai is stuck with lawsuits of its own, basically accused of being the creepy “imaginary friend” app nobody wants their kid downloading.

And Google’s Gemini? Still slipping up on sensitive stuff like it’s walking on a banana peel. In this race, OpenAI just dropped a “distress alert” feature while the others are still fumbling with their shoelaces.

What’s the point of all this? For OpenAI, it’s about looking like the adult in the room while their rivals look like either the narc (Meta), the unsafe babysitter (Character.ai), or the clueless substitute teacher (Google). For you? If you’re a CEO or founder, this is a reminder that your customers and regulators are watching your AI like hawks.

Don’t wait until it lands you in a courtroom. If you’re a VP, ask yourself if your risk policies even cover “AI gone rogue.” If you’re a manager, maybe stop pretending your team isn’t using ChatGPT behind your back. And if you’re just an everyday American, think about this: do you really want your kid confiding in a bot that can’t tell the difference between “I’m stressed about finals” and “I need serious help”?

OpenAI just set the bar. Everyone else better catch up or get roasted, as the AI company parents tell their kids to avoid.

Parents are asking OpenAI to step up, regulators are circling, and lawsuits are piling up. But here’s the real question: whose job is it to keep kids safe around AI, the tech companies, the government, or parents themselves? And if one drops the ball, who pays the price?

- Matt Masinga