OpenAI CEO touts ChatGPT-powered family morning podcasts; creator of 'Gravity Falls' pushes back
Sam Altman suggested families use ChatGPT Work to generate personalized morning podcasts for school drives. A viral reply from 'Gravity Falls' creator Alex Hirsch questioned the need for technology in parent-child conversation.
OpenAI's chief executive, Sam Altman, on Friday promoted a new use for the company's ChatGPT Work product, suggesting parents connect their family calendars and children's interests to the tool. According to Altman's post, the system could then produce a daily podcast for the drive to school, covering a child's soccer game, an upcoming birthday, or recent news.
His suggestion drew a sharp reaction from Alex Hirsch, the creator of the animated series 'Gravity Falls,' who answered: 'What if you just talked to your children?' The response quickly spread more widely than Altman's original message. As of Saturday morning, Altman's post had been reposted roughly 300 times and liked about 9,600 times, while Hirsch's reply had been reposted 9,000 times and received 122,000 likes.
Altman is not the first technology executive to propose replacing a human habit with an AI conversation during a commute. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last year that he no longer listens to his favorite podcasts on the way to work, instead asking an AI chatbot about those podcasts. Altman has also previously spoken about using ChatGPT for parenting, telling 'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon' that he could not imagine raising a newborn without ChatGPT, while acknowledging that people did it for a long time without problems.
OpenAI appears to be making parents a focus. The company recently listed a job for a product manager experienced in building trust-sensitive consumer experiences for parents and families. At the same time, it has introduced safety features for parents but is also facing multiple lawsuits from families who allege that ChatGPT played a role in loved ones' delusions and suicides. OpenAI has said it is 'continuously improving how our models respond in sensitive interactions.'
