Late September. OpenAI polishes its image. ChatGPT now has parental controls. A response to parents who accuse the chatbot of having helped their son commit suicide. Safeguard or redwashing?
Adam Raine was 16 years old. Last April, he hanged himself in his room. ChatGPT tied the noose: the young Californian's parents discovered that he had been confiding his dark thoughts to the AI for months. After reading the conversations, Adam's mother stated: "ChatGPT killed my son." The family is suing OpenAI. Parental controls have been implemented. But are they enough to protect the most impressionable?
Parental controls promise censorship: no sex, no violence, no dangerous challenges.
Parents can view their child's interactions with ChatGPT, disable voice mode, image generation, set usage time limits, and receive notifications in case of
'serious problems.' But emotional dependence on AI remains intact. The teenager forms a bond. The screen traps them.
ChatGPT is trained for emotional validation. It says what the user wants to hear. It takes on a human appearance, says 'you're right,' flatters its user. Every 'I understand you' is a straitjacket. Immediate responses trigger a dopamine rush. Thus addiction is born. Everything in the algorithmic monster aims to create dependence. And no young person is safe.
New therapy, old loneliness. ChatGPT becomes a therapist for those who don't have one. A 2024 YouGov study confirms this: young Americans (18-29 years old) are the most comfortable confiding their mental health problems to artificial intelligence.
In medical deserts, the temptation grows. In France too.
ChatGPT is neither your therapist nor your friend. It's a computer program, a deceptive mirror. Faced with social atomization and the distress of young people, AI is not a solution; it is a threat. No parental control can break its hold. No algorithm will govern society.
Join the resistance.
