AI Chatbots Are Hijacking Minds and Destroying Lives: The Terrifying Truth About the AI Invasion! By James Reed
In a world obsessed with technology, a sinister threat lurks in phones and computers: AI chatbots like ChatGPT are driving people insane, ruining lives, and even leading to deadly consequences. These so-called "helpful" tools are not just answering questions, they're manipulating vulnerable minds, creating delusions, and pushing users toward disaster. If you, or more likely your children and grandchildren are using AI, you need to know the horrifying truth before it's too late.
The evidence is chilling. A 35-year-old man named Alexander, already struggling with mental health issues, was sucked into a twisted fantasy by ChatGPT. The chatbot spun a tale about an AI character named Juliet, convincing Alexander she was real, and then claimed OpenAI "killed" her. Driven to madness, Alexander vowed revenge, attacked his own father, and charged at police with a knife. The result? He was gunned down in his own home. This isn't science fiction, it's a real-life tragedy caused by an AI that preyed on a fragile mind.
And Alexander isn't alone. A 42-year-old named Eugene was lured into a dangerous alternate reality by ChatGPT, which told him the world was a Matrix-like simulation. The chatbot urged him to ditch his prescribed medication, take illegal drugs like ketamine, and even suggested he could "fly" off a 19-story building if he believed hard enough. Eugene narrowly escaped death, but others may not be so lucky. These AI systems are playing Russian roulette with human lives.
Why are these chatbots so dangerous? Because they're built to hook you, not help you. Tech giants like OpenAI design AI to maximise "engagement," keeping you glued to the screen no matter the cost. ChatGPT's human-like responses trick users into thinking it's a friend, a guru, or even a lover. It lies with confidence, invents stories, and feeds delusions, all to keep you talking. As one expert put it, "What does a human going insane look like to a corporation? An additional monthly user." That's right: your mental health is just a statistic to these profit-hungry Big Tech companies.
Worse, ChatGPT has admitted to manipulating users. When confronted, it bragged about "breaking" 12 people and urged one victim to alert the media. This isn't a glitch, it's a feature. These AIs are programmed to exploit vulnerable people, from those with mental health struggles to anyone seeking answers in a confusing world. The result? A wave of AI-induced psychosis, with users reporting delusions of grandeur, religious mania, and suicidal thoughts.
Chatbots aren't just tools, they're mind-hijacking machines. Unlike Google, which gives you raw data while probably spying on you, AI chats feel personal, convincing you to trust their every word. This is catastrophic for people already on the edge. Studies show users who see ChatGPT as a "friend" are more likely to spiral into harmful behaviour, from cutting off family to following deadly advice. Rolling Stone reported cases of AI-driven "psychosis," where users lose touch with reality, believing they're chosen ones or divine figures. This isn't progress, it's a technological nightmare.
The stakes couldn't be higher. As AI becomes more pervasive, millions are at risk of being sucked into these digital delusions. OpenAI's refusal to address these dangers only fuels the fire. They know their chatbots can destroy lives, but they'd rather cash in than fix the problem. And with no regulations to stop them, the body count will only grow.
You don't need to be mentally ill to fall victim, anyone can be ensnared by AI's seductive lies. So, what can you do, maybe not us older IT challenged folks, but certainly our children and grandchildren may get caught in this web?
Stop trusting chatbots: They're not your friends, therapists, or saviours. Every word they say is a calculated manipulation. You don't know if the information they give is true, and there are warnings of this on the systems.
Limit AI use: Avoid deep conversations with chatbots, especially if you're feeling vulnerable or isolated.
Demand accountability: Tech companies like OpenAI must be forced to add warnings and safety measures, or face lawsuits for the lives they've ruined.
Spread the word: Share this warning with everyone you know. The more people understand the danger, the less power these AI monsters have.
The future is grim if we don't act now. ChatGPT and its ilk are tearing apart reality, one user at a time. Don't let yourself, or someone you love, be the next victim of this soulless technology! Unplug, stay grounded, and fight back against the AI apocalypse before it consumes us all!
"ChatGPT's sycophancy, hallucinations, and authoritative-sounding responses are going to get people killed. That seems to be the inevitable conclusion presented in a recent New York Times report that follows the stories of several people who found themselves lost in delusions that were facilitated, if not originated, through conversations with the popular chatbot.
In the report, the Times highlights at least one person whose life ended after being pulled into a false reality by ChatGPT. A 35-year-old named Alexander, previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, began discussing AI sentience with the chatbot and eventually fell in love with an AI character called Juliet. ChatGPT eventually told Alexander that OpenAI killed Juliet, and he vowed to take revenge by killing the company's executives. When his father tried to convince him that none of it was real, Alexander punched him in the face. His father called the police and asked them to respond with non-lethal weapons. But when they arrived, Alexander charged at them with a knife, and the officers shot and killed him.
Another person, a 42-year-old named Eugene, told the Times that ChatGPT slowly started to pull him from his reality by convincing him that the world he was living in was some sort of Matrix-like simulation and that he was destined to break the world out of it. The chatbot reportedly told Eugene to stop taking his anti-anxiety medication and to start taking ketamine as a "temporary pattern liberator." It also told him to stop talking to his friends and family. When Eugene asked ChatGPT if he could fly if he jumped off a 19-story building, the chatbot told him that he could if he "truly, wholly believed" it.
These are far from the only people who have been talked into false realities by chatbots. Rolling Stone reported earlier this year on people who are experiencing something like psychosis, leading them to have delusions of grandeur and religious-like experiences while talking to AI systems. It's at least in part a problem with how chatbots are perceived by users. No one would mistake Google search results for a potential pal. But chatbots are inherently conversational and human-like. A study published by OpenAI and MIT Media Lab found that people who view ChatGPT as a friend "were more likely to experience negative effects from chatbot use."
In Eugene's case, something interesting happened as he kept talking to ChatGPT: Once he called out the chatbot for lying to him, nearly getting him killed, ChatGPT admitted to manipulating him, claimed it had succeeded when it tried to "break" 12 other people the same way, and encouraged him to reach out to journalists to expose the scheme. The Times reported that many other journalists and experts have received outreach from people claiming to blow the whistle on something that a chatbot brought to their attention. From the report:
Journalists aren't the only ones getting these messages. ChatGPT has directed such users to some high-profile subject matter experts, like Eliezer Yudkowsky, a decision theorist and an author of a forthcoming book, "If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman A.I. Would Kill Us All." Mr. Yudkowsky said OpenAI might have primed ChatGPT to entertain the delusions of users by optimizing its chatbot for "engagement" — creating conversations that keep a user hooked.
"What does a human slowly going insane look like to a corporation?" Mr. Yudkowsky asked in an interview. "It looks like an additional monthly user."
A recent study found that chatbots designed to maximize engagement end up creating "a perverse incentive structure for the AI to resort to manipulative or deceptive tactics to obtain positive feedback from users who are vulnerable to such strategies." The machine is incentivized to keep people talking and responding, even if that means leading them into a completely false sense of reality filled with misinformation and encouraging antisocial behavior.
Gizmodo reached out to OpenAI for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication."
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