New Paper Finds Cases of "AI Psychosis" Manifesting Differently From Schizophrenia

upstart writes:

New Paper Finds Cases of "AI Psychosis" Manifesting Differently From Schizophrenia:

Researchers at King's College London have examined over a dozen cases of people spiraling into paranoid and delusional behavior after obsessively using a chatbot.

Their findings, as detailed in a new study awaiting peer review, reveal striking patterns between these instances of so-called "AI psychosis" that parallel other forms of mental health crises - but also identified at least one key difference that sets them apart from the accepted understanding of psychosis.

As lead author Hamilton Morrin explained to Scientific American, the analysis found that the users showed obvious signs of delusional beliefs, but none of the symptoms "that would be in keeping with a more chronic psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia," like hallucinations and disordered thoughts.

It's a finding that could complicate our understanding of AI psychosis as a novel phenomenon within a clinical context. But that shouldn't undermine the seriousness of the trend, reports of which appear to be growing.

Indeed, it feels impossible to deny that AI chatbots have a uniquely persuasive power, more so than any other widely available technology. They can act like a "sort of echo chamber for one," Morrin, a doctoral fellow at King's College,told the magazine. Not only are they able to generate a human-like response to virtually any question, but they'retypically designed to be sycophantic and agreeable. Meanwhile, the very label of "AI" insinuates to users that they're talking to an intelligent being, an illusion that tech companies are gladly willing to maintain.

Read more of this story at SoylentNews.