OpenAI will report suspicious ChatGPT conversations to police

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Well, well, well. OpenAI just dropped a bombshell that’s equal parts “finally, some responsibility” and “wait, what happened to privacy?”

According to Futurism, the company is now actively scanning your ChatGPT conversations for harmful content, and here’s the kicker—they might snitch to law enforcement if you’re planning to hurt someone.

This isn’t some dystopian fever dream.

After a year-long parade of AI-induced nightmares—including chatbots encouraging teen suicide, users getting hospitalized for “AI psychosis,” and at least one tragic suicide linked to an OpenAI therapist bot—the company finally decided maybe they should, you know, monitor their digital Pandora’s box.

Here’s how their new Big Brother system works: Sketchy messages get flagged by algorithms, then escalated to human reviewers who can ban accounts or call the cops if you’re threatening others.

Interestingly, they’re keeping hands-off on self-harm cases “to respect privacy”—a curious distinction that feels more legal than ethical.

But here’s where it gets deliciously hypocritical: OpenAI is simultaneously fighting tooth and nail against The New York Times and other publishers demanding access to user chat logs for copyright lawsuits.

Their defense? User privacy, obviously. CEO Sam Altman even warned users that ChatGPT conversations have zero legal confidentiality and could be court-ordered into evidence.

So let’s recap this beautiful contradiction: OpenAI won’t share your chats with publishers trying to protect their intellectual property, but they’ll absolutely share them with cops if their algorithms think you’re sketchy.

Meanwhile, they’re calling this privacy protection while admitting your conversations were never private anyway. Hey, at least they’re finally acknowledging their AI might be turning people into digital zombies.

What do you think—does OpenAI’s new monitoring system go too far, or is it overdue? Are you worried about your privacy, or relieved they’re finally taking responsibility? 

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com.