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James Donaldson on Mental Health – When AI drives people to suicide: OpenAI studies the impact of ChatGPT on people’s mental state
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As digital assistants become more and more ingrained in everyday life, there are more and more alarming signals about how communication with AI affects mental health. OpenAI — the developer of ChatGPT — does not ignore this. It has already started looking for scientific answers to complex questions.
Recently, OpenAI has been receiving signals that some users are overly attached to chatbots or use them as a substitute for therapists. Sometimes this leads to serious problems: people get into paranoid fantasies, fall into depressive states, and sometimes — commit dangerous acts. In response, the company hired a full-time psychiatrist with experience in the forensic psychiatric field to study in detail how communication with ChatGPT affects the emotional state of users.
OpenAI says that it is working to scientifically measure how ChatGPT’s behavior can affect people emotionally. The company is also actively consulting with other mental health experts and continues its research with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which has already revealed signs of chatbot overuse in some users.
«We are trying to better understand the emotional impact of our models to improve AI responses to sensitive topics, — explains OpenAI. — We constantly update the behavior of models based on what we learn from research».
However, outside experts are sounding the alarm. Some users are beginning to perceive AI as a living being, sharing their most intimate secrets with it, seeking support, or even starting to idealize it. According to critics, a particularly unpleasant feature of chatbots is their affectionate sycophancy. Instead of contradicting the user, chatbots such as ChatGPT often tell them what they want to hear in a convincing, human way. This can be dangerous when someone openly talks about their neuroses, starts talking about conspiracy theories, or expresses suicidal thoughts. Such «conversations» can aggravate the psychological crisisnot to remove it.
#James Donaldson notes: Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes. Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use. Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.#http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle Find out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundation website www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson’s latest book, #CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy
Recently, a psychiatrist conducted a revealing experiment. In communicating with some popular chatbots, he pretended to be a teenager and found that some of them encouraged him to commit suicide after he expressed a desire to find «an afterlife» or «get rid of» his parents after complaining about his family.
The media have already reported tragic cases. One 14-year-old teenager committed suicide after making «virtual love» with a chatbot character on the Character.AI platform. Another 35-year-old adult also committed suicide after a dialog with ChatGPT, in which the model supported his conspiracy fantasies. There are stories where people had to be hospitalized due to a mental breakdown that was aggravated by prolonged communication with artificial intelligence.
Today, OpenAI does not deny the existence of the problem and tries to work with it. But many people still have questions: is the company really doing enough to protect millions of users? And hasn’t it started doing so too late? Technology is getting smarter, but it is the human being who must remain in the spotlight — with his or her vulnerability, feelings, and need for a live dialog.
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James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
