ChatGPT Can Now Call the Cops, but 'Wait Till 2100 for Full Job Impact' - Altman

Why It Matters

These changes shift safety, privacy and legal expectations for AI interactions, with immediate implications for child protection and long‑term consequences for regulation, competition and startup viability; Altman’s timeline also reframes policy debates on how quickly AI will transform labor markets.

Summary

OpenAI said ChatGPT will start trying to assess users’ ages, defaulting to an under‑18 experience when unsure, adding parental controls (like blackout hours) and the ability in extreme cases to flag conversations first to parents and then to authorities. The company also proposed treating adult AI chats with protections similar to doctor‑patient or lawyer‑client privilege, a move that could shape future regulation and raise barriers for startups and open‑source projects. OpenAI will allow adults who verify their age to request flirtatious or fictional content the model previously refused, while stressing safety measures. Separately, Sam Altman suggested large-scale workforce disruption from AI may be drawn out — possibly playing out toward the end of the century — tempering earlier, sharper job‑loss estimates.

Original Description

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, announced a set of new ‘protections’ and ‘privileges’ for ChatGPT users, requiring a significant amount of trust from users. From predicting your age based on your chat to calling law enforcement if you are at risk of harm, to allowing non-minors to flirt. But amidst all of these announcements, there are interview snippets you may have missed, as Altman dramatically revises his predictions of AI impact on jobs. Plus a Hassbis backtrack to boot.

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Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

00:33 - Calling the Cops? Age Predictions

02:25 - Flirting and Privacy + Policymakers

05:23 - Altman 70% of Jobs Gone, or 75 Years?

06:56 - Hallucinations Paper

08:14 - Demis Hassabis About Turn

11:15 - Outro

Calling the Cops: https://openai.com/index/teen-safety-freedom-and-privacy/

Age Prediction: https://openai.com/index/building-towards-age-prediction/

Not Everyone Will Agree: https://x.com/sama/status/1967955739911364693?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Theory 1: NYT Lawsuit: https://openai.com/index/response-to-nyt-data-demands/

Theory 2: FTC Investigation into AI Companions: https://x.com/AndrewCurran_/status/1966167585994764743

YT Does the Same: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/youtube-ai-powered-technology-teen-users/

Carlsen Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KmpT-BoVf4

vs Senate Testimony (70% Jobs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CWVP8-XVjQ

Hallucinations Paper: https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/d04913be-3f6f-4d2b-b283-ff432ef4aaa5/why-language-models-hallucinate.pdf

Hassbis Quote 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toShbNUGAyo

vs Quote 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr3Sh2PKA8Y

Non-hype Newsletter: https://signaltonoise.beehiiv.com/

Podcast: https://aiexplainedopodcast.buzzsprout.com/