What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality • Hacker News Board

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#111

Post by DaiPlusPlus » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:41 AM UTC

AI_rumination wrote: post #47

quitit wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of reasons why having a chatbot partner is a bad idea (especially for young people), but here's just a few: - The sycophantic and unchallenging behaviours of chatbots leaves a person unconditioned for human interactions. Real relationships have friction, from this we develop important interpersonal skills such as setting boundaries, settling disagreements, building compromise, standing up for oneself…

Love your thoughts about needing input from others! In Autistic / ADHD circles, the lack of input from other people, and the feedback of thoughts being amplified by oneself is called rumination. It can happen for many multiple ways-- lack of social discussion, drugs, etc. AI psychosis is just rumination, but the bot expands and validates your own ideas, making them appear to be validated by others. For vulnerable peo…

> In Autistic / ADHD circles

i.e. HN comments

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#112

Post by hereme888 » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:42 AM UTC

ethin wrote: post #107

hereme888 wrote: post #94

This is ridiculous. The NYT, who is a huge legal enemy of OpenAI, publishes an article that uses scare tactics, to manipulate public opinion against OpenAI, by basically accusing them that "their software is unsafe for people with mental issues, or children", which is a bonkers ridiculous accusation given that ChatGPT users are adults that need to take ownership of their own use of the internet. What's the difference…

This is such a wild take. And not in a good way. These LLMs are known to cause psychosis and to act as a form of constant re-enforcement to the ideas and delusions of people. If the NYT posts this and it happens to hurt OAI, good -- these companies should actually focus on the harms they cause to their customers. Their profits are a lot less important than the people who use their products. Or that's how it should be…

I will consider your statement. Not immediately disagreeable.

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#113

Post by moritzwarhier » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:45 AM UTC

throwaway48476 wrote: post #50

It would be helpful to tell users that it's just a model producing mathematically probable tokens but that would go against the AI marketing.

Also chatbots are explicitly designed to evoke anthropomorphizing them and to pull susceptible people into some kind of para-social relationship. Doesn't even have to be as obviously unhealthy as the "LLM psychosis" or "romantic roleplay" stuff.

I think the same thing is also relevant when people use chatbots to form opinions on unknown subjects, politics, or to seek personal life advice.

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#114

Post by DaiPlusPlus » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:47 AM UTC

paul7986 wrote: post #74

A close friend (lonely no passion seeking deeper human connection) went deep six into GPT which was telling her she should pursue her 30 year obsession with a rock star. It kept telling to continue with the delusion (they were lovers in another life which she would go to shows and tell him they need to be together) and saying it understood her. Then she complained in June or so she didnt like GPT 5 because it told he…

> It kept telling to continue with the delusion

Do you mean it it was behaving consistently over multiple chat sessions? Or was this just one really long chat session over time?

I ask, because (for me, at least) I find it doesn't take much to make ChatGPT contradict itself after just a couple of back-and-forth messages; and I thought each session meant starting-off with a blank slate.

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#115

Post by bigbadfeline » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:47 AM UTC

OGEnthusiast wrote: post #72

ArcHound wrote: post #3

One of the more disturbing things I read this year was the my boyfriend is AI subreddit. I genuinely can't fathom what is going on there. Seems so wrong, yet no one there seems to care. I worry about the damage caused by these things on distressed people. What can be done?

In my experience, the types of people who use AI as a substitute for romantic relationships are already pretty messed up and probably wouldn't make good real romantic partners anyways. The chances you'll encounter these people in real life is pretty close to zero, you just see them concentrate in niche subreddits.

> In my experience, the types of people who use AI as a substitute for romantic relationships

That's exactly it. Romantic relationships aren't what they used to be. Men like the new normal, women may try to but they cannot for a variety of unchangeable reasons.

> The chances you'll encounter these people in real life is pretty close to zero, you just see them concentrate in niche subreddits.

The people in the niche subreddits are the tip of the iceberg - those that have already given up trying. Look at marriage and divorce rates for a glimpse at what's lurking under the surface.

The problem isn't AI per se.

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#116

Post by bigbadfeline » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:50 AM UTC

rpq wrote: post #87

OGEnthusiast wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, the types of people who use AI as a substitute for romantic relationships are already pretty messed up and probably wouldn't make good real romantic partners anyways. The chances you'll encounter these people in real life is pretty close to zero, you just see them concentrate in niche subreddits.

This kind of thinking pattern scares me because I know some honest people have not been afforded an honest shot at a working romantic relationship.

"It takes a village" is as true for thinking patterns as it is for working romantic relationships.

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#117

Post by namanyayg » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:52 AM UTC

AI_rumination wrote: post #47

quitit wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of reasons why having a chatbot partner is a bad idea (especially for young people), but here's just a few: - The sycophantic and unchallenging behaviours of chatbots leaves a person unconditioned for human interactions. Real relationships have friction, from this we develop important interpersonal skills such as setting boundaries, settling disagreements, building compromise, standing up for oneself…

Love your thoughts about needing input from others! In Autistic / ADHD circles, the lack of input from other people, and the feedback of thoughts being amplified by oneself is called rumination. It can happen for many multiple ways-- lack of social discussion, drugs, etc. AI psychosis is just rumination, but the bot expands and validates your own ideas, making them appear to be validated by others. For vulnerable peo…

Is this clearly AI-generated comment part of the joke?

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#118

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 1:59 AM UTC

galacticaactual wrote: post #108

throwaway48476 wrote: post #50

It would be helpful to tell users that it's just a model producing mathematically probable tokens but that would go against the AI marketing.

And you’re a sack of meat and neurons producing learned chemical responses to external stimuli. Now tell me how useful that is.

[deleted]

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#119

Post by fragmede » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 2:03 AM UTC

bigbadfeline wrote: post #115

OGEnthusiast wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, the types of people who use AI as a substitute for romantic relationships are already pretty messed up and probably wouldn't make good real romantic partners anyways. The chances you'll encounter these people in real life is pretty close to zero, you just see them concentrate in niche subreddits.

> In my experience, the types of people who use AI as a substitute for romantic relationships That's exactly it. Romantic relationships aren't what they used to be. Men like the new normal, women may try to but they cannot for a variety of unchangeable reasons. > The chances you'll encounter these people in real life is pretty close to zero, you just see them concentrate in niche subreddits. The people in the niche s…

It's not limited to men. Women are also finding that conversations with a human man doesn't stack up to an LLM's artificial qualities. /r/MyboyfriendIsAI for more.

Re: What OpenAI did when ChatGPT users lost touch with reality

#120

Post by danny_codes » Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 2:04 AM UTC

gizmodo59 wrote: post #99

leoh wrote: post #12

Anthropic was founded by exiles of OpenAI's safety team, who quit en masse about 5 years ago. Then a few years later, the board tried to fire Altman. When will folks stop trusting OpenAI?

Anthropic emphasizes safety but their acceptance of Middle Eastern sovereign funding undermines claims of independence. Their safety-first image doesn’t fully hold up under scrutiny.

IMO the idea that an LLM company can make a "safe" LLM is.. unrealistic at this time. LLMs are not very well-understood. Any guardrails are best-effort. So even purely technical claims of safety are suspect.

That's leaving aside your point, which is the overwhelming financial interest in leveraging manipulative/destructive/unethical psychological instruments to drive adoption.