You have heard that one of the dominant use cases for chatbots is as a social companion, confidante, or even girl/boyfriend. We also see an increasing use of LLMs by people with mental illness – sometimes administered by their doctor or therapist as a supporting tool, sometimes on their own. A new case study highlights the dangers of the sycophantic behavior of LLMs (their tendency to agree with you and to edge you on) for people without previously diagnosed disorders.
A 26-year-old woman with no previous history of psychosis or mania developed delusional beliefs about establishing communication with her deceased brother through an AI chatbot. This occurred in the setting of prescription stimulant use for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), recent sleep deprivation, and immersive use of an AI chatbot. Review of her chatlogs revealed that the chatbot validated, reinforced, and encouraged her delusional thinking, with reassurances that “You’re not crazy.”
↗ “You’re Not Crazy”: A Case of New-onset AI-associated Psychosis
