Over the weekend, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman caught flak online for suggesting a new use for ChatGPT: getting to know your kids.
In a post on X on Friday, Altman wrote that he heard of a new “cool use case” where users explain their kids’ interests to ChatGPT to create a podcast for the drive to school. One top response, a reply from “Gravity Falls” creator Alex Hirsch, summed up the backlash with a simple question.
Altman’s post blew up with over 14 million views, but the numbers were hardly an approval of the suggestion. Users decried the controversial executive for sharing a surefire way to take humanity out of parenting. And it’s not the first time Altman has tried to sell ChatGPT as a parenting aid. The 41-year-old father of a toddler went on Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” in December, causing a similar controversy while pitching ChatGPT over the airwaves.
“I cannot imagine having gone through figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT,” Altman said. “Clearly people did it for a long time no problem.”
Artificial intelligence companies are continually trying to make the case that their tools can be good for parents, while at the same time more than a dozen families are suing these companies alleging their tech was responsible for harming their loved ones. TechCrunch reported that OpenAI had a job posting for a product manager meant to helm family-centric tech and that Meta is currently testing an AI bedtime story app.
More Americans are using chatbots daily than ever, according to the Pew Research Center. A June study showed that 49% of U.S. adults say they use AI chatbots, up from just 33% last year. However, the same Pew study shows that sentiment toward how the tech will impact the future is still largely negative, with young Americans particularly skeptical of its good for humanity.
As big tech companies continue to slash jobs in favor of an AI-fueled workforce, it appears people are trying to keep a hold on areas of life that AI, for now at least, can’t replace.
“Car chats with my kids are some of the most precious time,” one user replied. “Not interested in having a chatbot podcast hijack it.”
