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The Explainer
The Explainer
4 Sep 2025
Will ChatGPT's new parental controls actually work?
00:00

We’re joined by Elaine Burke, tech journalist and host of the For Tech’s Sake podcast to ask: are these new controls a meaningful step towards safety, or just a sticking plaster on a much deeper problem?


We’re all grappling with how to use new AI tools, or whether to attempt to stay away from them completely. For some people, they've become a source of support. But what happens when a chatbot becomes a trusted confidant for a teenager in crisis?


Following a lawsuit in the United States from the parents of a teenager who died by suicide, OpenAI is rolling out parental controls for ChatGPT. The move comes as data suggests mental health queries are a common type of prompt from Irish users, with local experts and regulators issuing stark warnings about the dangers of using AI for therapy.