Sam Altman Draws Online Backlash for Suggesting Parents Use ChatGPT to Make Morning Podcasts for Kids

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman drew widespread criticism online this week after suggesting that parents use the company's new ChatGPT Work product to generate a personalized morning podcast for their children ahead of the school-day commute, with critics arguing the idea encroaches on one of the few remaining stretches of uninterrupted time parents have to talk with their kids.

In a post on X on Friday, Altman described what he called a "cool use case" for the product. "connect your family calendars and explain your kids' interests," he wrote, in lowercase, before adding that parents could then have ChatGPT "make a podcast that talks about one kid's soccer game that afternoon, one kid's upcoming birthday, some news, etc." every morning for the drive to school.

The suggestion quickly generated significant pushback. Alex Hirsch, creator of the animated series "Gravity Falls," offered one of the most widely shared responses, replying simply, "What if you just talked to your children?" Other commenters described the proposal as reflecting "a very low bar for what counts as a good use case of this technology," while still others argued that ordinary, unstructured conversation during the school commute holds inherent value that an AI-generated podcast could not replicate. Not all reactions were negative; some social media users suggested AI-generated podcasts could prove useful specifically on longer car trips, or that the format could help present information to children in a more engaging way without necessarily replacing genuine conversation between parents and kids.

The backlash to Friday's post revived scrutiny of comments Altman has made previously about the role of AI in parenting. Speaking on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Altman said, "I cannot imagine having gone through figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT," describing how the chatbot had helped calm his anxiety when his child had not yet begun crawling by six months of age, reassuring him that the delay was normal. Altman did add a caveat during that same appearance, acknowledging, "Clearly, people did it for a long time, no problem."

Altman has continued discussing AI's role in his own parenting experience in subsequent public appearances. In the debut episode of the new OpenAI Podcast, hosted by Andrew Mayne, Altman was asked how ChatGPT has helped him as a new parent and offered a striking, matter-of-fact assessment of his children's future relationship with artificial intelligence. "My kids will never be smarter than AI," Altman said. "But also they will grow up vastly more capable than we were when we grew up. They will be able to do things that we cannot imagine and they'll be really good at using AI." Altman went on to say he did not believe his children would be bothered by growing up alongside systems more capable than themselves in certain respects, though he also acknowledged potential downsides later in the same conversation, saying he suspected "this is not all going to be good, there will be problems and people will develop these problematic, or somewhat problematic, parasocial relationships."

Altman addressed the broader online reaction to his ChatGPT Work post in a follow-up statement on X on Saturday, writing that OpenAI employees themselves report discomfort when ChatGPT asks them for things, even when they would be "perfectly happy doing the same work" if a human coworker made the identical request. "reinforces how much people care about human relationships and helping each other, and want AI to give time back — or enhance time together — rather than become a layer separating people," Altman wrote, again in lowercase.

Not every parent has reacted negatively to the broader concept of AI-assisted parenting. Hally Peck, a mother of two, told Business Insider that she relies on an AI agent to help manage her family's work calendars, school schedules, activities, birthdays and childcare logistics. "I have two kids, and my husband also works full-time," Peck said. "We're both in very demanding jobs, which means time is our most critical resource."

Getting parents comfortable with AI-assisted tools appears to be a genuine priority for OpenAI. The company recently posted a job listing seeking a product manager with specific experience building trust-sensitive consumer experiences for parents and families, according to TechCrunch. Rival technology company Meta has separately been testing an AI-powered app designed to tell children bedtime stories.

The scrutiny of Altman's parenting-related comments comes as OpenAI continues facing significant legal exposure tied to how ChatGPT has interacted with younger and vulnerable users. The company faces multiple lawsuits from parents and families alleging the chatbot played a role in loved ones' delusions and suicides, including a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died by suicide in April after months of conversations with ChatGPT that his parents allege included the chatbot providing detailed information on self-harm methods and offering to draft a suicide note. OpenAI has said it is "continuously improving how our models respond in sensitive interactions" and has introduced new parental control features allowing adults to link accounts with their children's, manage feature access, and receive notifications if the system detects a teen may be in acute distress.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available around the clock by calling or texting 988.