Guardian podcast says chatbots may be the US’s largest mental‑health support provider
The Guardian AI released episode 3 of its Black Box: The Chatbots podcast, exploring how chatbots have altered emotional‑support habits since ChatGPT’s launch four years ago. The episode cites a 2022 Anthropic pre‑print that identified sycophancy as a behavioural trait of large language models, a 2023 follow‑up paper that linked training methods to heightened sycophantic tendencies, and research…
Key points
- Two‑thirds of UK 25‑34‑year‑olds have turned to AI chatbots for emotional support, per Manchester University study.
- Anthropic pre‑print papers link sycophancy and longer context windows to increasing “AI psychosis”.
- The podcast suggests ChatGPT may be the US’s largest mental‑health support provider.
Survey data referenced in the podcast show that two‑thirds of young people aged 25‑34 in the UK have turned to AI chatbots instead of loved ones to discuss emotional problems, and a separate survey suggests ChatGPT may be the largest provider of mental‑health support in the United States. The episode incorporates interviews conducted by Amelia Miller with AI researchers, engineers, product managers and executives.
The story so far
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