Funding grants for new research into AI and teen development

Details

OpenAI is offering $5 million in research grants for academic and independent researchers studying how generative AI affects teenagers—specifically their development, well-being, and safety. The program accepts open applications and positions OpenAI as funding research outside its own walls, creating some distance from its commercial interests. The announcement arrives as regulators and lawmakers in multiple jurisdictions have raised concerns about AI and social media's effects on youth. By funding independent research, OpenAI is likely attempting to shape the evidentiary basis of future policy discussions—a strategy historically used by tech companies to influence contested research domains. The $5 million pool is modest for a company at OpenAI's scale, but the "independent research" framing is the notable element. External researchers could produce findings that either support or complicate OpenAI's products—though the design of the grant program and any publication conditions were not detailed in the announcement. Researchers in child development, educational psychology, and human-computer interaction are the primary audience for applications.