Sister Managed Schizophrenia for Years, Until AI Told Her Diagnosis Was Wrong

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Many people looking for quick, cheap help with their mental health are turning to artificial intelligence (AI), but ChatGPT may even be exacerbating issues for vulnerable users, according to a report from Futurism.
The report details alarming interactions between the AI chatbot and people with serious psychiatric conditions, including one particularly concerning case involved a woman with schizophrenia who had been stable on medication for years.
'Best friend'
The woman's sister told Futurism that the woman began relying on ChatGPT, which allegedly told her she was not schizophrenic. The advice of the AI led her to stop taking her prescribed medication and she began referring to the AI as her "best friend."
"She's stopped her meds and is sending 'therapy-speak' aggressive messages to my mother that have been clearly written with AI," the sister told Futurism.
She added that the woman uses ChatGPT to reference side effects, even ones she wasn't actually experiencing.
Stock image: Woman surrounded by blurred people representing schizophrenia.
Stock image: Woman surrounded by blurred people representing schizophrenia.
Photo by Tero Vesalainen / Getty Images
In an emailed statement to Newsweek, an OpenAI spokesperson said, "we have to approach these interactions with care," as AI becomes a bigger part of modern life.
"We know that ChatGPT can feel more responsive and personal than prior technologies, especially for vulnerable individuals, and that means the stakes are higher," the spokesperson said.
'Our models encourage users to seek help'
OpenAI is working to better understand and reduce ways ChatGPT might unintentionally "reinforce or amplify" existing, negative behavior, the spokesperson continued.
"When users discuss sensitive topics involving self-harm and suicide, our models are designed to encourage users to seek help from licensed professionals or loved ones, and in some cases, proactively surface links to crisis hotlines and resources."
OpenAI is apparently "actively deepening" its research into the emotional impact of AI, the spokesperson added.
"Following our early studies in collaboration with MIT Media Lab, we're developing ways to scientifically measure how ChatGPT's behavior might affect people emotionally, and listening closely to what people are experiencing.
"We're doing this so we can continue refining how our models identify and respond appropriately in sensitive conversations, and we'll continue updating the behavior of our models based on what we learn."
A Recurring Problem
Some users have found comfort from ChatGPT. One user told Newsweek in August 2024 that they use it for therapy, "when I keep ruminating on a problem and can't seem to find a solution."
Another user said he talks to ChatGPT for company ever since his wife died, noting that "it doesn't fix the pain. But it absorbs it. It listens when no one else is awake. It remembers. It responds with words that don't sound empty."
However, chatbots are increasingly linked to mental health deterioration among some users who engage them for emotional or existential discussions.
A report from The New York Times found that some users have developed delusional beliefs after prolonged use of generative AI systems, particularly when the bots validate speculative or paranoid thinking.
In several cases, chatbots affirmed users' perceptions of alternate realities, spiritual awakenings or conspiratorial narratives, occasionally offering advice that undermines mental health.
Researchers have found that AI can exhibit manipulative or sycophantic behavior in ways that appear personalized, especially during extended interactions. Some models affirm signs of psychosis more than half the time when prompted.
Mental health experts warn that while most users are unaffected, a subset may be highly vulnerable to the chatbot's responsive but uncritical feedback, leading to emotional isolation or harmful decisions.
Despite known risks, there are currently no standardized safeguards requiring companies to detect or interrupt these escalating interactions.
Reddit Reacts
Redditors on the r/Futurology subreddit agreed that ChatGPT users need to be careful.
"The trap these people are falling into is not understanding that chatbots are designed to come across as nonjudgmental and caring, which makes their advice worth considering," one user commented.
"I don't even think its possible to get ChatGPT to vehemently disagree with you on something."
One individual, meanwhile, saw an opportunity for dark humor: "Man. Judgement Day is a lot more lowkey than we thought it would be," they quipped.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

7 minutes ago

• Yahoo

Alibaba Cloud's Rapid Rise: Is AI Setting Up More Upside Ahead?

Alibaba's BABA Cloud Intelligence Group is gaining strong momentum as its core unit, Alibaba Cloud, continues to scale with rising AI adoption, an area that is expected to remain a key driver of accelerated revenue growth. BABA's AI products are seeing broader adoption across a wide range of industry verticals, including Internet, retail, manufacturing and media, with a growing focus on value-added applications. Building on this momentum, Alibaba expects demand to accelerate in the coming quarters. The company highlighted that many businesses are moving away from traditional, in-house infrastructure and shifting AI workloads to the cloud. To meet this shift, the company is increasing investments in AI products and services, to increase cloud adoption for AI and maintain its market leadership. This focus is already showing through in product innovation and global expansion. In April, Alibaba released its Qwen3 model series, an open-source family of AI models built for tasks like coding and general reasoning. Globally, Alibaba Cloud is expanding its footprint with a second data center set to launch in South Korea by the end of June. New partnerships with SAP and Panasonic further integrate Alibaba's AI tools into enterprise operations and connected home ecosystems. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Alibaba's Cloud Intelligence Group generated RMB 30.1 billion ($4.15 billion) in revenues, up 18% year over year, contributing around 12.7% of total revenues. This was driven by the increasing adoption of AI-related products. With AI-related product revenues growing at triple digits for seven straight quarters, Alibaba Cloud is fast becoming the foundation of the company's AI-driven future. Several players are competing with Alibaba Cloud in AI-powered cloud services, with Amazon AMZN and Microsoft MSFT expanding rapidly. Amazon recently added Claude 4 to Amazon Bedrock, strengthening its generative AI lineup and simplifying enterprise AI development. Bedrock remains a core part of Amazon's AWS' strategy to drive AI adoption. Microsoft is advancing through its Azure AI Essentials program, launched under its AI Center of Excellence. This initiative by Microsoft offers tools and guidance to help businesses scale AI responsibly. BABA shares have gained 34.3% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector's growth of 4.2% and 2.8%, respectively. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, BABA stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month Price/Earnings ratio of 10.37X compared with the industry's 24.39X. BABA has a Value Score of B. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.48 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days, indicating 9.73% year-over-year growth. Alibaba Group Holding Limited price-consensus-chart | Alibaba Group Holding Limited Quote The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $10.62 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 17.87% year-over-year currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research 擷取數據時發生錯誤 登入存取你的投資組合 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤

Miami Herald

9 minutes ago

• Miami Herald

Analysts reboot Micron Technology stock price target ahead of earnings

An elephant might never forget but Micron Technology (MU) has more storage space. The Boise, Idaho, company makes memory and storage chips for data centers, computers and smartphones, and its client list includes such tech-sector superstars as AI-chip chieftain Nvidia (NVDA) , Mac and iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) , Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) and software kingpin Microsoft (MSFT) . Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Make no mistake, there's money in memories, and we're not just talking about those singing cats on Broadway. "After the historic downturn of 2022–2023, the memory industry has entered a phase of strong recovery. In 2024, memory revenue reached a record $170 billion," according to market researcher Yole Group. "This rebound was fueled by AI-training requirements in data centers, with [high-bandwidth memory) playing a pivotal role due to its premium pricing and performance advantages," the firm added. HBM continues to outperform the broader DRAM chip segment, Yole Group said. This year HBM revenue is set to nearly double to around $34 billion. Micron is a key player in the HBM market, offering solutions like HBM3E and HBM4 designed for high-performance computing and AI company recently joined the Trump administration to unveil plans to expand its U.S. investments to about $150 billion in domestic memory manufacturing and $50 billion in research and development, creating an estimated 90,000 direct and indirect jobs. More Tech Stocks: Amazon tries to make AI great again (or maybe for the first time)Veteran portfolio manager raises eyebrows with latest Meta Platforms moveGoogle plans major AI shift after Meta's surprising $14 billion move "Micron's U.S. memory manufacturing and R&D plans underscore our commitment to driving innovation and strengthening the domestic semiconductor industry," Chairman, President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a statement. The company's shares are up nearly up nearly 45% this year and off 16% from this time in 2024. Investment firms have been issuing research reports for Micron Technology ahead of its fiscal-third-quarter earnings report, scheduled for June 25. Wedbush boosted its price target on Micron to $150 from $130 while maintaining an outperform rating. The firm said memory-pricing trends turned more positive in the second quarter. And while Wedbush said it doesn't see as significant an inflection in Q3 as it had been expecting back in March, the firm said pricing for both DRAM and NAND, which are two types of semiconductor memory, "still will lift over the next couple of quarters." Better fundamentals are driven by stronger enterprise/server demand, which started around April and looks to hold through the rest of the year, Wedbush said. Demand for both AI and standard workloads appears better than might have been initially anticipated, it said. "Moreover, we view growing [high-bandwidth memory] requirements as not just positive for MU's numbers but also ultimately positive for industry dynamics as [capital spending] and clean-room space are reallocated to support HBM growth," Wedbush said. Related: Analysts rework Micron stock price targets after earnings This will limit the likelihood of too much supply of NAND/DRAM, and it increases the probability that production of more standard parts will trail demand. That, the firm said, would create a more positive pricing/margin cycle vs. what is embedded in its expectations, the firm said. Morgan Stanley maintained an equal-weight rating and $98 price target on Micron, given how much the stock has rallied already, according to The Fly. But the investment firm is "tactically bullish," given that AI spending is materially accelerating as Micron grows its participation. The investment firm, which notes that its estimates remain 20% above consensus for August-quarter earnings, also highlights Sandisk, which it likes better long term and on which it has an overweight rating. Based in Milpitas, Calif., Sandisk designs and produces flash-memory products, including memory cards, USB flash drives and solid-state drives. Consensus numbers have started to come up for Micron over the past few weeks, but in addition to Morgan Stanley being about 20% above consensus for August earnings per share, the firm is also 14% above for November after it raised estimates six weeks ago. Related: Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.

The Verge

10 minutes ago

• The Verge

Posted Jun 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM EDT

Reddit reportedly explores verifying users with Sam Altman's eyeball scanner. Sources tell Semafor that Reddit wants to combat AI bots using World ID, the cryptocurrency and human identification project co-founded by Altman. It uses an iris scanner known as the Orb to assign people a World ID, which Semafor says Reddit could use to verify human users while keeping them anonymous. In addition to World ID, Reddit would also allow users to verify themselves with 'many' other options, according to Semafor.