OpenAI's Sam Altman clarifies "adult model" plans amid erotica backlash
Altman made it clear that these new freedoms would not "apply across the board" and that OpenAI would "treat users who are having mental health crises very differently from users who are not.” He also stressed that the company had “no plan to change” its “strict policies regarding mental health.”
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has responded to a surge of online criticism and mockery concerning planned changes to ChatGPT that were quickly dubbed an “adult model.” The controversy erupted after Altman discussed a policy shift intended to grant adults more freedom while maintaining stricter controls for younger users.
The backlash largely centered on a single reference to "erotica," a detail Altman admitted he had not expected to draw such intense focus.
“Ok this tweet about upcoming changes to ChatGPT blew up on the erotica point much more than I thought it was going to!” Altman posted on X. He explained that the initial announcement “was meant to be just one example of us allowing more user freedom for adults,” and offered an effort “to better communicate it.”
Altman elaborated that the company’s intent is to prioritize the protection of younger users, stating that OpenAI would continue to put “safety over privacy and freedom for teenagers.” This, he noted, reflects the company's belief that “minors need significant protection” because the technology is “new and powerful.”
He further emphasized the core principle driving the change, asserting that the company cares “about the principle of treating adult users like adults.” Altman had previously acknowledged that OpenAI’s existing, tighter content rules made ChatGPT “less useful/enjoyable to many users.”
The CEO also specified the timeline and scope of the change: “In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.”
Altman made it clear that these new freedoms would not "apply across the board" and that OpenAI would "treat users who are having mental health crises very differently from users who are not.” He also stressed that the company had “no plan to change” its “strict policies regarding mental health.”
In a separate message, Altman rejected the notion that OpenAI should serve as an absolute moral arbiter over personal choices. “But we are not the elected moral police of the world,” he wrote, comparing OpenAI’s proposed tiered approach to established social systems.
“In the same way that society differentiates other appropriate boundaries (R-rated movies, for example) we want to do a similar thing here," he concluded. The company plans to tighten restrictions for minors while giving verified adults more freedom under controlled conditions.
