OpenAI is committing $5 million to support independent research on how generative AI affects the lives and development of young people ages 13–17. The initiative aims to build a stronger evidence base about teen AI use and its impacts, informing product development and policy.

The program will fund research into opportunities and challenges of AI use during adolescence, focusing on social and emotional development. Topics include how teens use generative AI, potential impacts, and factors shaping effects, such as individual, social, cultural, and technical influences.

OpenAI welcomes interdisciplinary proposals from any country, prioritizing those with significant AI adoption. Eligible approaches include qualitative, quantitative, experimental, observational, and participatory methods. Research involving teens in design is welcome but not required.

Priority areas include emotional well-being, social relationships, patterns across demographics, and mitigations like safeguards and age-appropriate design. Proposals involving minors must address ethics, consent, privacy, and safeguarding, with potential additional review for sensitive data.