400
OpenAI says over a million people talk to ChatGPT about suicide weekly (techcrunch.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
132 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 9 points 1 year ago (10 children)

The anti-AI hivemind here will hate me for saying it but I'm willing to bet $100 that this saves a significant number of lives. It's also indicative of how insufficient traditional mental health institutions are.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    I'm going to say that while that's probably true there's something it leaves out.

    For every life it saves it may just be postponing or causing the loss of other lives. This is because it's not a healthcare professional and it will absolutely help to mask a lot of poor mental health symptoms which just kicks the can down the road.

    It does not really help to save someone from getting hit by a bus today if they try to get hit by the bus again tomorrow and the day after and so on.

    Do I think it may have a net positive effect in the short term? Yes. Do I believe that that positive effect stays a complete net positive in the long term? No.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

    Even if we ignore the number of people it's actually able to talk away from the brink the positive impact it's having on the loneliness epidemic alone must be immense. Obviously talking to a chatbot isn't ideal but it surely is better than nothing. Imagine the difference in being stranded on an deserted island and having ChatGPT to talk with as opposed to talking to a volleyball with a face on it.

    Personally I'm into so many things that my irl friends couldn't care less about. I have so many regrets trying to initiate a discussion about these topics with them only to either get silence or a passive "nice" in return. ChatGPT has endless patience to engage with these topics and being vastly more knowledgeable than me it often also brings up alternative perspectives I hadn't even thought of. Obviously I'd still much rather talk with an actual person but untill I'm able to meet one like that ChatGPT sure is a hell of a better than nothing.

    This cynicism towards LLMs here truly boggles my mind. So many people seem to build their entire identity around feeling superior about themselves due to all the products and services they don't use.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Personally I’m into so many things that my irl friends couldn’t care less about. I have so many regrets trying to initiate a discussion about these topics with them only to either get silence or a passive “nice” in return. ChatGPT has endless patience to engage with these topics and being vastly more knowledgeable than me it often also brings up alternative perspectives I hadn’t even thought of. Obviously I’d still much rather talk with an actual person but until I’m able to meet one like that ChatGPT sure is a hell of a better than nothing.

    Ftr I've encountered a similar experience. I used to be a naysayer with shit like ChatGPT, thinking "Why would anyone spend all day talking to something that can't pass a turing test?"

    And then I realized how ill-equipped the people in my own life are to pass that test. At least a conversation with ChatGPT actually feels remotely intellectually stimulating lol

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    This cynicism towards LLMs here truly boggles my mind. So many people seem to build their entire identity around feeling superior about themselves due to all the products and services they don't use.

    I think they're just scared as hell of the possible negative effects and react instinctively. But the cat is out of the bag and downvoting / hating on every post on Lemmy that mentions positive sides is not going to help them steer the world into whatever alternative destiny that they're hoping for.

    The thing that puzzles me is that this is typically the hallmark of older more conservative generations, and I imagine that Lemmy has a relatively young demographic.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent