OpenAI is funding $5 million of independent research into how AI affects teenagers

OpenAI is committing $5 million to independent research on how generative AI affects teenagers.

The funding will support studies focused on young people between the ages of 13 and 17.

OpenAI says the research should examine how teenagers use AI for activities including learning, creativity and seeking advice, as well as how outcomes vary depending on the user, the context and the support available around them.

The initiative arrives as generative AI becomes increasingly common in schools and everyday life.

Teenagers can now use AI systems as tutors, writing assistants, coding partners, creative tools and conversational advisers. That makes the technology difficult to evaluate through a single measure such as screen time.

Potential benefits and risks may depend heavily on why the system is being used.

An AI tutor that helps a student understand algebra is a very different interaction from using the same system for emotional advice, social decisions or completing schoolwork without learning the underlying material.

OpenAI says the grants are intended to support independent research rather than only internal safety evaluations.

Questions around younger users are becoming increasingly important for AI companies as the technology moves from an optional productivity tool into a normal part of education and communication.

Better evidence about how teenagers actually use these systems could eventually influence product design, parental controls, school policies and regulation.