OpenAI has confirmed it is postponing the launch of an “adult mode” for ChatGPT, saying the company will instead prioritise improving the platform’s core capabilities and user experience.

The move marks a shift from earlier plans outlined by Sam Altman, who indicated last year that the artificial intelligence developer would allow certain forms of adult content on its flagship chatbot once robust age-verification systems had been introduced.

However, OpenAI has now said that development resources are being redirected toward upgrades that will benefit a broader share of the chatbot’s rapidly expanding user base.

“We’re pushing out the launch of adult mode so we can focus on work that is a higher priority for more users right now,” the company said. “That includes gains in intelligence, personality improvements, personalisation and making the experience more proactive.”

The company added that it still supported the underlying principle behind the proposed feature, allowing adult users greater freedom in how they interact with AI systems, but acknowledged that implementing it safely would require additional work.

“We still believe in the principle of treating adults like adults,” OpenAI said. “But getting the experience right will take more time.”

The decision comes at a time of intense competition in the artificial intelligence sector. Since announcing plans to loosen restrictions on ChatGPT content in late 2025, Altman has repeatedly warned that OpenAI faces a “code red” challenge from rival AI developers.

Among the most prominent competitors are Google DeepMind and Anthropic, both of which are racing to release more capable generative AI systems.

OpenAI’s focus on performance improvements reflects the escalating pressure to maintain leadership in the AI market, where advances in reasoning capability, conversational tone and personalisation are increasingly seen as key differentiators.

The company says ChatGPT now has more than 900 million users worldwide, making it one of the fastest-growing digital platforms in history. Maintaining reliability, safety and usefulness at such scale has become a central priority.

Although the launch of adult mode has been delayed, OpenAI is continuing to develop age-verification and age-prediction systems designed to ensure younger users are protected from inappropriate content.

The technology analyses usage patterns and behavioural signals to estimate whether a user may be under the age of 18. If the system determines that a user is likely to be a minor, stricter safety filters are automatically applied.

These additional safeguards limit exposure to graphic violence, explicit content and sexual role-play scenarios.

The work is also partly driven by regulatory pressures in several countries. In the UK, for example, the Online Safety Act requires platforms hosting potentially harmful or adult material to ensure that under-18s cannot access such content without effective age verification measures.

As a result, any future “adult mode” would likely need to be accompanied by robust compliance systems in multiple jurisdictions before being deployed widely.

The announcement about ChatGPT’s delayed adult mode came as OpenAI faced internal controversy following the resignation of a senior executive linked to its robotics division.

Caitlin Kalinowski stepped down after raising concerns about the company’s partnership with the United States Department of Defense.

Kalinowski said she was troubled by the potential implications of AI technologies being used in areas such as mass surveillance or autonomous weapons systems.

“AI has an important role in national security,” she wrote in a statement on social media platform X. “But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorisation are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got.”

She emphasised that her concerns related primarily to the speed with which the deal had been announced rather than the concept of national security collaboration itself.

“These are governance concerns first and foremost,” she said. “Issues this significant require clearly defined guardrails before agreements are announced.”

In response, OpenAI said it would update the terms of its defence agreement to ensure that its technology cannot be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons systems.

A company spokesperson said the partnership was intended to support responsible national-security applications of AI while maintaining clear ethical boundaries.

“We believe our agreement with the Pentagon creates a workable path for responsible national security uses of AI while making clear our red lines: no domestic surveillance and no autonomous weapons,” the spokesperson said.

OpenAI added that it would continue engaging with employees, policymakers and civil society groups to ensure its technology is deployed responsibly.

The delay of ChatGPT’s adult mode reflects the broader challenge facing AI companies as they attempt to balance technological innovation, safety safeguards and regulatory compliance.

As generative AI tools become more widely used for everything from work productivity to creative expression, companies are increasingly under pressure to introduce new features carefully and responsibly.

For OpenAI, the immediate focus appears to be ensuring that ChatGPT’s core intelligence and usability continue to improve — a strategy the company believes will have a greater impact on its hundreds of millions of users than expanding the range of content the chatbot can produce.

Whether adult mode eventually launches may depend on how effectively OpenAI can implement reliable age verification and content moderation systems — a complex technical and legal challenge that is still evolving alongside the rapidly advancing capabilities of artificial intelligence.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

The upcoming Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold is still months away from its official reveal, but early leaks are already looking promising for smartphone enthusiasts. Despite some minor changes, you might get your lucky shot with this flagship around August 2026. That will only happen if the company follows its usual launch timeline.

Here’s what the latest render leaks show about Pixel 11 Pro Fold’s successor.

Familiar Design With Subtle Refinements

At first glance, the leaked renders reveal a design very similar to that of its predecessor, the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. However, closer inspection reveals several small yet meaningful updates.

As Android Headlines reports, one of the most noticeable changes involves the camera module. In the updated design, the LED flash and microphone appear to be integrated within the pill-shaped oval section of the camera island, rather than being positioned outside the housing.

Additionally, the transition between the camera island and the rear panel is now smoother, replacing the previous sharper edge with a curved connection. This adjustment slightly elongates the internal oval cutouts within the camera module.

Slimmer Foldable Form Factor

Another significant improvement involves the device’s thickness. According to the leaked CAD specifications, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold may measure approximately 10.1 mm when folded, making it thinner than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold‘s 10.8 mm profile.

When unfolded, the device is expected to measure just 4.8 mm, compared with the previous model’s 5.2 mm thickness. These refinements suggest that Google is focusing on creating a sleeker and more comfortable foldable smartphone without drastically altering the device’s overall dimensions.

Tensor G6 Chip Expected to Boost Performance

GSM Arena reports that performance upgrades are also expected with the inclusion of the new Google Tensor G6 processor. The next-generation chip is rumored to deliver stronger AI capabilities, improved energy efficiency, and faster overall processing performance.

While the Pixel 11 Pro Fold has not yet been officially announced, the early leaks indicate that Google’s upcoming foldable phone could emphasize refined design, slimmer hardware, and enhanced performance when it arrives later this year.

Originally published on Tech Times

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‘Our plan for 10,000 genuinely affordable, social and council homes is building record numbers’

More than 1,500 new homes will be built across Manchester by the council, which has promised that more than one-fifth will be ‘genuinely affordable’.

The council has struck a deal with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to finance around 1,600 apartments and houses on brownfield parcels of land. While many of the homes will be available on the open market, at least 20 per cent will be let at the ‘Manchester Living Rent’, set at or below the local housing allowance level.

Seven projects will be built by This City, the council-owned property developer behind No 1 Ancoats Green, a 129-home scheme which opened last year. Council leader Bev Craig called that ‘a great start’, but wants to kick on with construction.

She said: “Our plan for 10,000 genuinely affordable, social and council homes is building record numbers. We built more last year than any year since the early 2000s.

“This partnership with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund will enable us to drive forward the work of This City to build the homes the city needs on council-owned land.

“Completing No.1 Ancoats Green last year was a great start – but this collaboration with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund provides long-term assurance that we can bring forward and deliver even more ambitious schemes.

“We already have a strong pipeline of projects in place, including the next This City development in the Northern Quarter, with further sites across Manchester. This means we are building many more homes capped at the Manchester Living Rent in the coming years .”

Town hall papers have named the seven sites where This City will build. They are Postal Street in the Northern Quarter (126 homes), Monsall Road in Harpurhey (651 homes), Grey Mare Lane in Beswick (145 homes), Hyde Road in Longsight (84 homes), Kirkmanshulme Lane also in Longsight (88 homes), Heyrod Street in Piccadilly (no figure given) and Downing Street in Ardwick (181 homes).

Construction work is expected to start on Postal Street next year, with other sites earmarked to begin in 2028, 2029, or 2030.

The projects are expected to be signed off by a meeting of the council’s executive at 3pm on Friday, March 13.

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.

Vistry says it wants to create ‘well-planned new neighbourhood’

Detailed plans have been submitted for a new community of 1,491 homes and a section of trunk road at North Leigh Park.

Outline permission for up to 1,700 homes at the site was approved in 2013 but a new planning application lodged with Wigan council in the past few days gives details of the layout, appearance, landscaping and scale of the majority of the proposed development.

Two parts of the wider site have previously been developed. The first close to Nel Pan Lane where 87 homes were created on either side of the new estate road by Countryside Properties in 2021.

The second is a development of 99 homes on the northern edge of the site which is accessed from Tiverton Avenue. That phase was brought forward by Bellway Homes.

A design and access statement has been published on the council’s planning portal on behalf of developer Vistry Group.

The report said: “The vision for North Leigh Park is to deliver a sustainable, well-connected and attractive new development for Wigan.

“It will deliver part of the new strategically significant highway infrastructure required to connect junction 5 of M61 with junction 26 of the M6.”

North Leigh Park is 2.6km to the north-west of Leigh town centre. Westleigh High School to the south-east of the site.

It is to the east of the A578 (Leigh Road) and covers a huge 178-acres. The site has an industrial past used for coal mining, sand extraction quarrying, industrial waste management operations, a scrap yard and a sewage treatment.

The report added: “The application for approval relates to 68 hectares of the site. The proposed development parcels have been designed to strategically avoid highly contaminated areas.

“This approach ensures that land is redeveloped in an appropriate way to ensure the protection of future occupiers.

“It comprises the residual area of the site which remains undeveloped and includes the link road.”

That road would connect Leigh Road (A578) to Atherleigh Way (A579). The site was recently announced as one of six priority housing locations selected for the Government’s New Homes Accelerator programme, aimed at overcoming planning barriers and accelerating the delivery of new affordable homes and supporting infrastructure.

Speaking in January, Matthew Parkes, managing director, Vistry Manchester and Cheshire East, said: “We are pleased to be bringing forward the next phases of North Leigh Park and continuing to work with Wigan Council, the Government and the local community to deliver much-needed new homes in this part of the borough.

“This is a significant opportunity to prevent a complex former industrial site becoming a long-term environmental problem and instead turn it into a well-planned new neighbourhood, with new homes, green spaces, local facilities and improved connections.”

The council will decide on the plans in the coming weeks.

To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your community, visit the Public Notices Portal.

This comes after the stocks took a severe beating earlier last week as tensions between Iran and Israel-US escalated, with no sign of a diplomatic resolution. Supply shortages began to emerge in several cities, including Mumbai and Bengaluru, with restaurants in some areas warning of possible closures due to insufficient fuel.

Trump on Monday told CBS News that he believes the war against Iran “is very complete” and that Washington was “very far ahead” of his initial four-to-five week estimated timeframe. He also told reporters that his administration was lifting sanctions on some countries as part of efforts to stabilise the oil market.

“So we have sanctions on some countries. We’re going to take those sanctions off until the Strait is up,” he said, without providing further details.

“It’s going to end soon, and if it starts up again they’ll be hit even harder,” Trump added.

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Following the remarks, crude oil prices plunged sharply after a blistering rally that had pushed prices past the $100 mark for the first time since Russia–Ukraine War began in 2022.
India imports more than 60% of its domestic LPG needs, and around 85–90% of these imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The country consumed 31.3 million tonnes of LPG in FY25, of which only 12.8 million tonnes were produced domestically.Earlier last week, the Indian government invoked emergency powers and directed oil refiners to ensure there is no shortage of LPG for domestic customers due to supply constraints arising from rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

Shares of Petronet LNG jumped around 5% to trade at Rs 291.5 apiece. The stock had earlier declined more than 9% last week after the company issued force majeure notices to QatarEnergy and others because vessels were unable to safely transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The possibility of traffic resuming through the critical chokepoint appears to have boosted sentiment.

Meanwhile, shares of Gujarat Gas rose about 1.6%, GAIL (India) gained more than 2%, while Indraprastha Gas Limited was up over 1%.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by experts are their own and do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)