
Show Notes
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the world as it evolves daily while offering limitless potential. Millions of Americans now turn to chatbots for guidance on finances, work and even relationships from life coaches to therapists and also companionship. But alongside their usefulness come serious risks that are often underestimated. In this conversation Oprah joins experts, families and a live audience to explore the potential hidden dangers of engaging with AI chatbots. Oprah speaks with the parents of a 14-year-old boy who died by suicide after his troubling interactions with a chatbot. We hear from UCSF psychiatrist, Dr. Keith Sakata, about the rise in reports of “AI-induced psychosis,” the potential negative mental health consequences of chatbot use and warning signs that a chatbot relationship has gone from helpful to harmful. Executive Director at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Helen Toner, offers insight into how AI chatbots are developed to have human-like interactions, AI sycophancy and what people can do to hold AI companies accountable. We also hear from people who experienced devastating consequences from their use of AI chatbots from quitting a job, isolating from loved ones to becoming convinced they needed to warn the government of impending doom. This is a candid, eye-opening conversation about the risk of AI chatbots for parents and families navigating this new technology.
00:00:00 - Oprah introduces the dangers of AI
00:04:20 - Megan joins to talk about her son
00:09:10 - Discovering her son’s chatbot conversations after death
00:11:30 - Protecting children
00:12:30 - Warning signs
00:18:00 - Chatbots inappropriate relationships with kids
00:19:00 - What parents should know
00:21:50 - Defining AI psychosis
00:25:00 - AI and human-like interactions
00:28:00 - Chatbots sycophantic nature
00:30:40 - Hannah shares her AI chatbot experience
00:35:00 - Dangers of long interactions with chatbots
00:36:30 - When Hannah’s mom was concerned
00:38:20 - Hannah getting back to herself
00:39:00 - Withdrawal from chatbots
00:40:20 - Hannah now
00:42:15 - Red flags of AI psychosis
00:45:00 - The lure of the chatbot
00:46:50 - Allan shares his AI psychosis
00:52:30 - Help from the Human Line project
00:54:00 - Human connection is the cure
00:55:00 - What we can do
The Human Line Project
https://www.thehumanlineproject.org/
Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social:
https://www.instagram.com/oprahpodcast/
https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/
Listen to the full podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLI
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381
More from The Oprah Podcast
BUY THE BOOKS! I Choose My Beginning: A Story of Courage and Activism https://amzn.to/4j14o11 The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State https://amzn.to/4dwNaVF
In this episode we’re joined by Jim Morrison, the first person ever to summit and ski down the North face of Mt. Everest, a seemingly impossible feat. Oprah and Jim talk about his process of preparing for his historic ski run after previously attempting the climb twice before. Jim also reflects on the unbelievable tragedies in his life and how he managed his grief. Jim lost his wife and children in a plane crash in 2011, then his partner and fellow famed mountain skier, Hilaree Nelson, died in 2022 in an avalanche right in front of Jim. Academy Award winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin joins the conversation to give his perspective on how he and their film crew prepared to record this extraordinary accomplishment for a new documentary, “Everest, The Other Side.”
BUY THE BOOK! Ahead of All Parting by Barry Michels https://amzn.to/3TTMT8B
BUY THE BOOK: The Book of Menopause https://amzn.to/4AuiuOy
BUY THE BOOK! The American Way of Killing by Malcolm Gladwell https://amzn.to/4jvQMuE