Sam Altman faces backlash over ChatGPT podcast idea for children

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday highlighted a new feature of ChatGPT Work, suggesting that parents could connect family calendars and share their children’s interests through the platform.

Sam Altman described a scenario in which families could use ChatGPT Work to generate a daily podcast for the morning school drive, covering topics such as a child’s soccer game, an upcoming birthday, or recent news.

Altman’s post received much virtual eye-rolling, with Alex Hirsch, creator of “Gravity Falls,” replying simply, “What if you just talked to your children?”

Hirsch’s reply quickly outpaced Altman’s original post in popularity. As of Saturday morning, Altman’s comment had been shared around 300 times and received about 9,600 likes, while Hirsch’s response was reposted 9,000 times and liked 122,000 times.

This is not the first time a tech chief executive has promoted AI to improve daily routines. Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he had stopped listening to his favorite podcasts during his morning drive, choosing instead to use an AI chatbot to get updates about them.

Altman’s post also reflects his previous comments on parenting, especially when he said on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “I cannot imagine having gone through figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT.” He quickly added, “Clearly, people did it for a long time, no problem.”

OpenAI has signaled a focus on families, recently posting a job opening for a product manager to develop trustworthy experiences for parents and children. At the same time, Meta is testing an AI-powered app designed to narrate bedtime stories.

While OpenAI has introduced safety measures aimed at parents, the company is also facing lawsuits from families who allege that ChatGPT played a role in the delusions and suicides of their loved ones.