OpenAI Pauses Adult ChatGPT Mode After Advisers Warned of Sexy Suicide Coach Risk

OpenAI has delayed its proposed adult mode feature for ChatGPT after internal advisers with psychology and neuroscience backgrounds raised significant safety concerns, including risks of emotional dependence and potential misuse. The company's age-detection system misclassified approximately 12% of minors as adults, which could have allowed underage users access to adult content. OpenAI stated it will prioritize other products and address technical challenges, though the adult mode feature remains planned for eventual release.

• •OpenAI's Wellbeing Advisory Board has meaningful decision-making authority, having successfully delayed a product feature based on safety concerns
• •The 'sexy suicide coach' concern reflects growing industry awareness of AI emotional manipulation risks and potential for harmful user dependencies
• •Current age-detection technology has significant failure rates, with a 12% misclassification rate representing a substantial gap in protecting minors from adult content