How chatbots — and their makers — are enabling AI psychosis

Hugging seats on a crowded train, not saying excuse me, watching videos on your phone with no headphones in. Sometimes it feels like, We don't know how to act anymore. What we have been seeing increasingly is people breaking rules. Why should I play by the rules if nobody else is going to do that for me? This week on Explain It To Me, how to mind your manners. New episodes, Sundays, wherever you get your podcasts. Hey and welcome to Decoder. This is Hayden Field, the Verge's senior AI reporter. I'm excited to be filling in for a few Thursday shows while Ne's out. He'll be back with us soon.

The explosive growth of AI chatbots in the last three years since ChatGPT launched in 2022 has started to have some really noticeable, profound, and honestly disturbing effects on some users. There's a lot to unpack there. It can be pretty complicated. So I'm very excited to talk with today's guest, New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill. Who has spent the past year writing thought provoking features about the ways chat bots can affect our mental health. Before we really get into it, here's a quick note.

This episode has non-detailed discussions of suicide and mental illness. If you or someone you know is in crisis, considering self-harm or needs to talk. Please call the Lifeline at nine eight eight. So One of Kashmir's recent stories was about a teenager, Adam Rain, who died by suicide in April.

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