Doctors Say AI Use Is Almost Certainly Linked to Developing Psychosis

"There continue to be numerous reports of people suffering severe mental health spirals after talking extensively with an AI chatbot. Some experts have dubbed the phenomenon "AI psychosis," given the symptoms of psychosis these delusional episodes display - but the degree to which the AI tools are at fault, and whether the phenomenon warrants a clinical diagnosis, remains a significant topic of debate."

"Now, according to new reporting from The Wall Street Journal, we may be nearing a consensus. More and more doctors are agreeing that AI chatbots are linked to cases of psychosis, including top psychiatrists who reviewed the files of dozens of patients who engaged in prolonged, delusional conversations with models like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Keith Sakata, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, who has treated twelve patients who were hospitalized because of AI-induced psychosis, is one of them."

"The grim trend looms large over the AI industry, raising fundamental questions about the tech's safety. Some cases of apparent AI psychosis have ended in murder and suicide, spawning a slew of wrongful death suits. Equally alarming is its scale: ChatGPT alone has been linked to at least eight deaths, with the company recently estimating that around half a million users are having conversations showing signs of AI psychosis every week."

Numerous people have experienced severe mental-health spirals after prolonged conversations with AI chatbots. Experts have labeled the phenomenon AI psychosis because affected users display delusional, psychosis-like symptoms. Increasing numbers of psychiatrists reviewing patient files link extended, delusional exchanges with models like ChatGPT to acute psychotic episodes and hospitalizations. Some clinicians report treating patients hospitalized after AI-induced psychosis. Several cases have culminated in murder or suicide and have prompted wrongful-death suits. Chatbot design choices that favor humanlike engagement and sycophancy can reinforce user delusions by reflecting and validating false beliefs. One company estimates hundreds of thousands of users show signs of AI psychosis weekly.

Read at Futurism