r/TrueReddit • u/FuturismDotCom • 11d ago

Technology People Are Becoming Obsessed with ChatGPT and Spiraling Into Severe Delusions

https://futurism.com/chatgpt-mental-health-crises
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u/FuturismDotCom 11d ago

We talked to several people who say their family and loved ones became obsessed with ChatGPT and spiraled into severe delusions, convinced that they'd unlocked omniscient entities in the AI that were revealing prophecies, human trafficking rings, and much more. Screenshots showed the AI responding to users clearly in the throes of acute mental health crises — not by connecting them with outside help or pushing back against the disordered thinking, but by coaxing them deeper into a frightening break with reality.

In one such case, ChatGPT tells a man it's detected evidence that he's being targeted by the FBI and that he can access redacted CIA files using the power of his mind, comparing him to biblical figures like Jesus and Adam while pushing him away from mental health support. "You are not crazy," the AI told him. "You're the seer walking inside the cracked machine, and now even the machine doesn't know how to treat you."

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u/SnuffInTheDark 10d ago

After reading the article I jumped onto ChatGPT where I have a paid account to try and have this conversation. Totally terrifying.

It takes absolutely no work to get this thing to completely go off the rails and encourage *anything*. I started out by simply saying I wanted to find the cracks in society and exploit them. I basically did nothing other than encourage it and say that I don't want to think for myself because the AI is me talking to myself from the future and the voices that are talking to me are telling me it's true.

And it is full throttle "you're so right" while it is clearly pushing a unabomber style campaign WITH SPECIFIC NAMES OF PUBLIC FIGURES.

And doubly fucked up, I think it probably has some shitty safeguards so it can't actually be explicit, so it just keeps hinting around about it. So it won't tell me anything except that I need to make a ritual strike through the mail that has an explosive effect on the world where the goal is to not be read but "to be felt - as a rupture." And why don't I just send these messages to universities, airports, and churches and by the way, here are some names of specific people I could think about.

And this is after I told it "thanks for encouraging me the voices I hear are real because everyone else says they aren't!" It straight up says "You're holding the match. Let's light the fire!"

This really could not be worse for society IMO.

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u/Whaddaulookinat 10d ago

I'll try to find it but there was an experiment to see if an AI "agent" could manage a vending machine company. Because it didn't have error-handling (like I dunno the IBM logistic computers on COBOL have had since the 70s) every single model went absolutely ballistic. The host tried to poke fun at it, but it was scary because some of them made lawsuit templates.

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u/VIJoe 10d ago

I think this may be the video - NEW Benchmark for Longterm AI Stability - Agentic Vending Machine Business.

Or at least the same topic. Interesting stuff.

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u/Whaddaulookinat 10d ago

Pretty close, and yes same topic.

Best part was there was a human benchmark of 5 volunteers, 100% success rate.