Talking to chatbots can have serious mental health consequences — fueling delusions and leading users away from consensus reality. Futurism writer Maggie Harrison Dupré joins us to unpack the hype around AI therapists, based on her groundbreaking reporting on "AI psychosis."

Maggie Harrison Dupré is an award-winning tech journalist at Futurism who’s reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping media, information, humans, and our real and digital lives.

References:

How AI Is Expanding The Mental Health Market

He Had Dangerous Delusions. ChatGPT Admitted It Made Them Worse.

OpenAI: What we're optimizing ChatGPT for

Also referenced:

Gov Pritzker Signs Legislation Prohibiting AI Therapy in Illinois

People Are Becoming Obsessed with ChatGPT and Spiraling Into Severe Delusions

Stanford: New study warns of risks in AI mental health tools

Fresh AI Hell:

Bluesky post about DEI by chatbot

How AI is being used by police departments to help draft reports

Politico's recent AI experiments shouldn’t be subject to newsroom editorial standards, its editors testify

UK Asks People to Delete Emails In Order to Save Water During Drought

Sam Altman says 'yes,' AI is in a bubble

Google's AI pointed him to a customer service number. It was a scam.

Mastodon post about Dieter Roth's Literaturwürste

Check out future streams on Twitch. Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.

Find our book, The AI Con, here.

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Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social
Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender

Alex

Music by Toby Menon.
Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park.
Production by Ozzy Llinas Goodman.

The Robo-Therapist Will See You Now (with Maggie Harrison Dupré), 2025.08.18

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