Funding grants for new research into AI and teen development

OpenAI is committing $5 million to support independent research on how generative AI affects the lives and development of young people ages 13–17.

Generative AI is becoming part of how teens learn, create, and seek advice. Its effects are likely to be nuanced. They may depend on what teens use AI for, how they engage with it, their individual circumstances, and the support available from families, schools, communities, and technology providers.

We want to build a stronger evidence base about the way teens use AI, as well as the impacts of AI on their lives, to inform development of AI products for teens and to help answer major questions facing policymakers and regulators. For example, we aim to deepen industry-wide understanding of the nuances across age and context, efficacy of safeguards and interventions, and the ways that evidence can inform implementation and evaluation. This program will fund independent research into the opportunities and challenges associated with AI use during adolescence, with a particular focus on teens’ social and emotional development.

What we’re funding

We welcome proposals that can deepen understanding and generate evidence relevant to current and emerging discourse, including:

• How teens use generative AI and how different patterns of use relate to developmental outcomes

• Potential impacts of AI use in teens’ lives

• The individual, social, cultural, and technical factors that shape the effects of AI in teens’ lives

• Technical interventions, safeguards, and design choices that can increase benefits or keep teens safer

• How effects may differ across ages, developmental stages, populations, cultures, languages, and socioeconomic contexts

Qualitative, quantitative, experimental, observational, theoretical, participatory, and mixed-methods approaches are all eligible. Research involving teens in the design or interpretation of studies is welcome but not required.