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People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

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Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#141

Post by chneu »

There are already kids, young adults, and adults who are "falling in love" with AI personas.

I think this is going to be a much bigger issue for kids than people are aware of.

I remember reading a story a few months ago of a kid, about 14 I think, who wasn't socially popular. He got into an AI persona, fell in love, and then killed himself after the AI hinted he should do it. The story should be easy to find.

People have said it before but we're speeding towards two kinds of society: "the massively online" people who spend the majority of their time online in a fantasy world, then the "disconnected" who live in the real world.

I already see it with people. Look at how we view politics in many countries. Like 1/4th of people believe absolute nonsense because they spend too much time online.

Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#142

Post by chneu »

Animats wrote: post #68

With a heavy enough dosage, people get lost in spiritual fantasies. The religions which encourage or compel religious activity several times per day exploit this. It's the dosage, not the theology. Video game addiction used to be a big thing. Especially for MMOs where you were expected to be there for the raid. That seems to have declined somewhat. Maybe there's something to be said for limiting some types of screen…

Video game addiction is still absolutely a major thing. I know a ton of middle aged dudes who do absolutely nothing but work and play video games. Nothing else. No community involvement, no exercise, not social engagements, etc.

Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#143

Post by chneu »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #33

Anyone remember the media stories from the mid-90's about people who were obsessed with the internet and were losing their families because they spent hours every day on the computer addicted to the internet? People gonna people. Journalists gonna journalist.

Society started to accept it. It's still a major problem.

Someone spending 6 or so hours a day video gaming in 2025 isn't seen as bad. Tons of people in 2025 lack community/social interaction because of video games. I don't think anyone would argue this isn't true today.

Someone doing that in the mid-90s was seen as different. It was odd.

Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#144

Post by chneu »

aryehof wrote: post #96

Sadly these fantasies and enlightenments always seem for the benefit of the special recipient . There is somehow never a real answer about ending suffering, conflict and the ailments of humankind.

Because those things only matter to humans.

The answer to all those is simple, but humans have too much of an ego to accept it.

Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#145

Post by chneu »

sigmaisaletter wrote: post #97
bell-cot wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you still call it a "cult" if each recruit winds up inside their own separate, personalized, ever-changing rabbit hole? Because if LLM, Inc. is trying to maximize engagement and profit, then that sounds like the way to go.

If there isn't shared belief, then it's some type of delusional disorder, perhaps a special form of Folie a deux.

This is interesting.

I agree when the influence is mental health or society based.

But an AI persona is a bit interesting. I guess the closest proxy would be a manipulative spouse?

Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#146

Post by chneu »

moojacob wrote: post #36
AIPedant wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I often bring up the NYT story about a lady who fell in love with ChatGPT, particularly this bit: In December, OpenAI announced a $200-per-month premium plan for “unlimited access.” Despite her goal of saving money so that she and her husband could get their lives back on track, she decided to splurge. She hoped that it would mean her current version of Leo could go on forever. But it meant only that she no longer hi…

I don’t think Sam Altman said “guys, we’ve gotta vulnerable people hooked on talking to our chatbot.” Speculation: They might have a number (average messages sent per day) and are just pulling levers to raise it. And then this happens.

This is a purposefully naive take.

They're chasing whales. The 5-10% of customers who get addicted and spend beyond their means. Whales tend to make up 80%+ of revenue for systems that are reward based(sin tax activities like gambling, prostitution, loot boxes, drinking, drugs, etc).

OpenAI and Sam are very aware of who is using their system for what. They just don't care because $$$ first then forgiveness later.

Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#148

Post by scoofy »

chneu wrote: post #141

There are already kids, young adults, and adults who are "falling in love" with AI personas. I think this is going to be a much bigger issue for kids than people are aware of. I remember reading a story a few months ago of a kid, about 14 I think, who wasn't socially popular. He got into an AI persona, fell in love, and then killed himself after the AI hinted he should do it. The story should be easy to find. People…

One of the things I feel like is surreal when I'm using an AI chat bot is that it never tells me to leave it alone and stop responding. It's the strangest thing, you could be as big of a jerk, and it'll play back it you in whatever banter it's programmed to.

I feel like this is a kind of psychological drug for people. It's like being the popular kid at the party. No matter how you treat people, you can get away with it, and the counter-party keeps playing along.

It's just strange.

Re: People are losing loved ones to AI-fueled spiritual fantasies

#149

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

93po wrote: post #132
codr7 wrote: post #4

Being surrounded by people who follow every nudge and agree with everything you say never leads anywhere worth going. This is likely worse. That being said, I already find the (stupid) singularity to be much more entertaining than I could have imagined (grabs pop corn).

i think chatgpt agreeing with people too eagerly, even outside the recent issue this past week or so, is causing a lot of harm. it's even happened to me in my personal life - i was having conflict with someone and they threw our text messages into chatgpt and said "am i wrong for feeling this way" and got chatgpt to agree with them on every single point. i had to highlight to them that chatgpt is really prone to doin…

That's a huge red flag that someone would analyse text messages to try to validate their feelings. Whether or not their feelings are "valid", there's still an issue to be discussed, so it sounds like either they're trying to gaslight you or that you've been gaslighting them. You should distance yourself from them.
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