OpenAI has introduced a new version of ChatGPT with features aimed at supporting students as they increasingly turn to AI for schoolwork, revision and learning.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

On Tuesday, August 18, the company launched a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers aged 13 to 17, with additional safeguards for young people using the chatbot.

Under the new system, users who identify as teenagers or are estimated by OpenAI to be under 18 will automatically be placed in the teen experience.

“It provides stronger built-in safety protections for teens, including features to promote healthy use and additional controls for parents. If our system estimates someone is under 18 or they state their age is between 13 and 17,⁠ they are automatically placed into ChatGPT for Teens,” the company wrote.

📌 What You Need to Know

The update is particularly relevant to students who use AI to understand difficult topics, practise questions or get help when they are studying outside the classroom .

The platform will offer Study Mode to guide students through questions step by step instead of simply providing answers to their assignments, while also giving them access to quizzes and learning visualisations.

Additionally, Study Hours can be set under the new version to make Study Mode the default during selected periods, while reminders will prompt teenagers to take regular breaks from the chatbot.

It will also introduce homework reminders that can redirect students towards working through problems when they appear to be trying to bypass their schoolwork.

The changes come as concerns grow over how young users interact with AI, including the risk of becoming overly reliant on chatbots or treating them like people.

To address this, teen accounts will have an option to turn off the chatbot’s human-sounding voice responses, while also reminding them that they are interacting with AI as part of measures intended to make the technology feel less like a person.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke