Denver schools block ChatGPT over safety concerns

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox. Denver Public Schools announced that starting this week, it is blocking students’ access to ChatGPT on school-issued devices and the district’s Wi-Fi network because of concerns about the artificial intelligence chatbot’s new features. Those features include the ability for users to start a 20-person group chat and the planned addition of adult content to ChatGPT. In an email to families Friday, a top district official said DPS worries the new content could “potentially facilitate harmful interactions and/or the creation of content related to self-harm, violence and bullying.” The 20-person chat feature could lead to cyberbullying and academic misconduct, among other concerns, the email said. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the organization that created ChatGPT, said on X this past fall that the new version would allow “eroti