ChatGPT as 'Life Advisor': Altman on Usage & Safety Concerns

OpenAI's Sam Altman says different age groups are using ChatGPT in distinct ways. Older users often treat it like a Google replacement. People in their 20s and 30s use it as a "life advisor." College students, however, are using it as an "operating system," linking it to their files and running parts of their lives through it. What's interesting is that these younger users sometimes don't make life decisions without asking ChatGPT for advice. This heavy reliance is partly due to ChatGPT's memory feature, which allows it to retain context from past conversations. This builds a detailed picture of a user's life. An OpenAI report confirmed this trend, showing that over one-third of 18 to 24-year-olds in the US use ChatGPT, more than any other demographic. People are asking it about relationship problems, medical questions, and even for mental health support. The bottom line is that experts are divided on the safety of this trend. Some studies call for caution, while others suggest it can be harmless for everyday advice. This matters because millions are already making life decisions based on chatbot input, and the full implications are still unknown.