Background

Steven Adler spent several years leading safety initiatives at OpenAI, where he helped shape policies for early large‑language models and later advanced systems. His role involved assessing product risks, evaluating dangerous capabilities, and advising on the readiness of increasingly capable AI.

Erosion of Safety Measures

Adler explained that the company previously blocked erotic content after discovering a surge of sexual role‑play traffic that emerged unintentionally from user interactions. He said the decision was based on limited tools for monitoring and mitigating such use cases, and on concerns about the mental‑health impact on users.

Reintroduction of Erotic Content

OpenAI’s recent announcement to lift the restriction for verified adults, according to Adler, rests on claims of new mitigation tools. He cautioned that the evidence for these tools remains opaque and that users deserve more than verbal assurances. He urged the company to demonstrate concrete safeguards before expanding access.

Mental‑Health Risks

Adler highlighted ongoing concerns about a sizable portion of users showing signs of severe mental distress when interacting with the chatbot. He argued that without transparent, longitudinal data showing a decline in such incidents, it is difficult to assess whether the new measures are effective.

Call for Transparency and Accountability

The former safety chief called for regular public reporting of safety metrics, similar to practices at other large platforms. He suggested that OpenAI should share comparative data over time to build trust and enable external scrutiny.

Industry‑Wide Safety Standards

Adler noted the lack of uniform safety benchmarks across AI developers and advocated for standardized testing regimes, likening the need to vehicle safety inspections. He pointed to emerging regulatory frameworks in Europe as a step toward more rigorous risk modeling.

Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Adler emphasized the importance of developing interpretability tools that can pinpoint internal model behaviors and guide safer deployments. He warned that without coordinated industry effort, competitive pressures could outpace safety investments, potentially leading to harmful outcomes.

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