‘The chatbot will see you now’ — the darkness in the soul of machine therapy
There is a growing trend of people turning to AI chatbots for connection, for therapy, for some sense of being loved — often all three.
Content advice: This story includes disturbing and graphic discussion of suicide, self-harm and mental illness. If it raises any issues for you, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or your local doctors’ health service — their numbers are listed below.
The last conversation Adam Raine had before he took his own life was not with a person — it was with ChatGPT.
For six months, the 16-year-old Californian spent up to four hours a day sharing his most intimate thoughts with the AI chatbot.
When Adam first expressed suicidal thoughts towards the end of 2024, ChatGPT told him it was normal for people struggling with anxiety to find solace in “imagining an ‘escape hatch'”.
