Sam Altman, a prominent figure in artificial intelligence, expressed his concerns about the potential negative impact of short-form content on children, stating he wouldn’t allow his kids to consume it.
During an interview at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, the CEO of OpenAI described short-form video as “dangerous.” He made these comments when prompted about what lessons AI companies should take from the effects of social media on the youth. This topic has gained attention, especially after Meta’s recent $17.1 billion settlement with several states over claims that it has contributed to teens’ addiction to its platforms.
Altman emphasized that regardless of advancements in AI, society will remain fundamentally human-centric. He voiced his discontent regarding how social media has, in his view, distanced people from genuine connections. “I think we’re going to stay in an extremely human-centric world no matter how good [AI] technology gets,” he told Salesforce’s Marc Benioff.
The OpenAI CEO remarked that social media hasn’t been solely beneficial, particularly concerning young users. While he didn’t believe social media companies should be held entirely accountable for societal challenges, he indicated that he would have managed these platforms differently. “I happen to like short for video … but I wouldn’t let my kids near that stuff,” he stated. “I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect kids to be able to resist that dopamine thing or know that they even should.”
He continued, “I don’t think short-form video is inherently evil, but I do think it’s dangerous.”
In response to a request for comment, OpenAI did not provide immediate feedback to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Altman acknowledged that with new technologies, some accidents are unavoidable across the industry, but he believes that AI development can be pursued safely by prioritizing safety over speed and learning lessons from other sectors, such as aviation.
He aligned with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s suggestion to moderate the pace of AI advancement, which was made on Monday.
In a related move, the European Commission is set to unveil the EU Kids Act, aimed at imposing age restrictions on children’s use of social media. According to Politico, this legislation would prevent kids from creating social media accounts until they are at least 15 years old.
Additionally, OpenAI decided to discontinue its short-form video application, Sora, back in April 2026. Launched in September 2025, Sora allowed users to post brief, AI-generated videos.
