OpenAI opens $5M grant program for research on AI's effects on teens
OpenAI is accepting applications for a $5 million grant program that will fund independent studies on how generative AI influences adolescent development, well-being, and safety. The initiative is aimed at researchers outside the company who are examining the risks and benefits of AI use among teenagers.
WHY IT MATTERS ↘By bankrolling independent research on adolescent AI use, OpenAI is helping shape the evidence base that regulators, courts, and school buyers will likely cite, while positioning youth safety as a credibility battleground competitors must address. For practitioners, this signals that age-appropriate design, safety evaluations, and possibly age assurance are moving toward standard product and compliance expectations rather than optional features.