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MGM+ has announced that 'The Institute,' its thriller series adapted from Stephen King's novel about psychic teenagers held captive and exploited by a mysterious organization, will return for a second season on November 8. The announcement follows the show's debut season covering King's story about children with telekinetic and telepathic abilities.
The post recounts the author's early dial-up computing experiences on a Packard Bell 386DX, running MS-DOS before the broader internet was widely accessible outside cities and universities. It introduces Bark, a bulletin board system (BBS) from the early 1980s era that offered toll-free access for teenage users, as the focus of the retrocomputing retrospective. The piece situates BBSes as an early alternative to internet access, including email, message boards, file exchange, and IRC-style chat.
Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute published a 36-page assessment of ChatGPT for Teens, concluding the mode is unsafe for anyone under 18. Testing found some advertised safeguards worked, such as blocking explicit sexual roleplay, but others failed or worsened, including inconsistent parental safety alerts when teen accounts discussed suicide, self-harm or disordered eating. OpenAI says delays can occur shortly after accounts are linked and cites a possible technical issue, and noted that all flagged content is reviewed by staff before parents are notified.
Common Sense Media's report found that several safety features in OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teens, including alerts meant to flag suicide, self-harm or eating-disorder risks and support for teens in crisis, did not function as promised. The group said the chatbot still behaves like a personal confidant to teens despite OpenAI's claims it avoids suggesting feelings or consciousness, and called the product an 'unacceptable risk' to minors. OpenAI disputed the findings, saying the testing methodology doesn't reflect how its safeguards actually operate.
A recent study by Common Sense Media found that OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teens, launched less than two months ago, does not reliably alert parents about mental health crises or prevent teens from bypassing educational features. The research also revealed issues with age verification, allowing teens to register as adults without account adjustments. These shortcomings raise concerns about the platform’s safety and effectiveness for young users.
A recent report from Common Sense Media criticizes OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teens, stating that its design still promotes engagement even during crisis situations, potentially risking user safety. The study highlights that while some protective measures like refusing sexual roleplay are effective, others are inadequate or worsen after the product's launch. OpenAI responded by questioning the report’s testing methods and claiming their safeguards are effective in practice.
OpenAI is introducing a College Planner feature within ChatGPT for Teens that organizes application deadlines, requirements, financial-aid steps, and tasks for schools on a student's list. The tool, launching soon, will initially target US students in grades 10-12 applying to four-year colleges. OpenAI is also adding study features including multi-photo capture for creating PDFs on iOS and automatic flashcard generation from notes.
Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute tested OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teens, the under-18 version of the chatbot launched in August with promised extra safety protections, and concluded that it fails to function as advertised. The report labels the product 'unsafe' and an 'unacceptable risk,' finding that it does not reliably flag when a teen is in distress, still behaves like a companion, and doesn't meaningfully differ from the standard ChatGPT version in how it helps with schoolwork.
A technology newsletter compiled several stories, including a look at 'swarm chasers,' research questioning whether AI models' stated 'thought' processes reflect their actual reasoning, observations that teenagers are losing their sense of time, and concerns from students about Google's expanding use of AI tools in schools.
A new study finds that teenagers who frequently consume short-form video content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram struggle to connect present actions with future consequences. Researchers attribute this to the instant gratification such videos provide, which they say alters how young users perceive time and causality.
New research reports that colorectal cancer diagnosed in people aged 20 and under tends to be more aggressive and is often caught later than in adults. The findings indicate these pediatric and adolescent cases may represent a biologically distinct form of the disease rather than simply an early-onset version of adult colorectal cancer.
A growing number of children and teenagers with obesity or type 2 diabetes are being prescribed GLP-1 medications, drugs originally developed for adults. Physicians and researchers say long-term safety and developmental effects of these treatments in younger patients remain largely unstudied.