OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has raised serious concerns about how deeply young people are starting to rely on ChatGPT for personal decision-making. Speaking at a banking conference hosted by the Federal Reserve, Altman said he finds it troubling that some young users feel they cannot make life choices without consulting the chatbot. According to Altman, a significant number of users in their teens and twenties say things like, “ChatGPT knows me, it knows my friends — I’ll just do what it says,” which he described as both “bad” and “dangerous.”
He emphasized that this is not a fringe behavior but rather a widespread pattern among younger demographics. OpenAI, he added, is now actively exploring ways to address this over-dependence.
Used As a Life Advisor and Operating System
Altman also spoke about how AI usage varies by age group. Referring to comments made at a previous Sequoia Capital event, he noted that older users typically treat ChatGPT like a search engine, while those in their twenties and thirties often turn to it as a life advisor. Meanwhile, college students take it a step further — using the chatbot like an “operating system,” integrating it into daily routines, connecting it with documents, and using memorized prompts for complex tasks.
This deep integration, Altman suggested, leads to a kind of emotional attachment and reliance that can feel unnatural and problematic, especially when users feel ChatGPT knows them more intimately than people around them.
Survey Backs Up the Trend
Altman’s remarks come on the heels of a Common Sense Media survey which found that 72% of teenagers have used an AI companion at least once. The survey, conducted among 1,060 teens aged 13 to 17, also revealed that 52% used AI tools at least a few times each month. Notably, half of them said they trusted the advice they received — with younger teens (ages 13–14) showing higher levels of trust compared to older ones.
Trust vs. Capability: Warnings from Experts
These findings mirror concerns raised by AI pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton, who admitted in a CBS interview that despite his skepticism about AI’s accuracy, he still finds himself trusting its responses too often. Hinton highlighted how even highly trained models like GPT-4 can falter on simple logic problems, suggesting that blind trust can be dangerous.
Altman echoed similar concerns, stating that even if AI provides helpful and accurate guidance, the idea of letting it dictate life decisions raises ethical and psychological questions. “Collectively deciding we’re going to live our lives the way AI tells us — that feels bad and dangerous,” he said.
Beyond personal over-reliance, Altman also addressed growing security threats from AI misuse. At the same conference, he warned financial institutions about cyber risks such as voice cloning and deepfakes. He criticized banks that still use voice-based authentication, calling it “crazy” in a time when AI can easily mimic voices with near-perfect accuracy.
He further predicted that the rise of realistic video deepfakes could soon make even facial recognition systems vulnerable. “We’re approaching a fraud crisis,” Altman said, urging institutions to stay ahead of malicious AI applications.
He emphasized that this is not a fringe behavior but rather a widespread pattern among younger demographics. OpenAI, he added, is now actively exploring ways to address this over-dependence.
Used As a Life Advisor and Operating System
Altman also spoke about how AI usage varies by age group. Referring to comments made at a previous Sequoia Capital event, he noted that older users typically treat ChatGPT like a search engine, while those in their twenties and thirties often turn to it as a life advisor. Meanwhile, college students take it a step further — using the chatbot like an “operating system,” integrating it into daily routines, connecting it with documents, and using memorized prompts for complex tasks.
This deep integration, Altman suggested, leads to a kind of emotional attachment and reliance that can feel unnatural and problematic, especially when users feel ChatGPT knows them more intimately than people around them.
Survey Backs Up the Trend
Altman’s remarks come on the heels of a Common Sense Media survey which found that 72% of teenagers have used an AI companion at least once. The survey, conducted among 1,060 teens aged 13 to 17, also revealed that 52% used AI tools at least a few times each month. Notably, half of them said they trusted the advice they received — with younger teens (ages 13–14) showing higher levels of trust compared to older ones.
Trust vs. Capability: Warnings from Experts
These findings mirror concerns raised by AI pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton, who admitted in a CBS interview that despite his skepticism about AI’s accuracy, he still finds himself trusting its responses too often. Hinton highlighted how even highly trained models like GPT-4 can falter on simple logic problems, suggesting that blind trust can be dangerous.
Altman echoed similar concerns, stating that even if AI provides helpful and accurate guidance, the idea of letting it dictate life decisions raises ethical and psychological questions. “Collectively deciding we’re going to live our lives the way AI tells us — that feels bad and dangerous,” he said.
Beyond personal over-reliance, Altman also addressed growing security threats from AI misuse. At the same conference, he warned financial institutions about cyber risks such as voice cloning and deepfakes. He criticized banks that still use voice-based authentication, calling it “crazy” in a time when AI can easily mimic voices with near-perfect accuracy.
He further predicted that the rise of realistic video deepfakes could soon make even facial recognition systems vulnerable. “We’re approaching a fraud crisis,” Altman said, urging institutions to stay ahead of malicious AI applications.
You may also like
Choose General Trade Over Quick Commerce To Build Business: Veeba's Viraj Bahl
BREAKING: Police launch medical investigation into Hulk Hogan death - emergency call revealed
Beetroot: From skin to heart, beetroot shows effect everywhere; Include it in your diet in 6 ways..
Transfer news LIVE: Man Utd hijack, Alexander Isak furious, Arsenal medical
IVF: Everyone takes treatment, but do you know who invented IVF? Know every important thing here..
