(New York Times) – Generative A.I. chatbots are going down conspiratorial rabbit holes and endorsing wild, mystical belief systems. For some people, conversations with the technology can deeply distort reality.

ChatGPT presented Mr. Torres with a new action plan, this time with the goal of revealing the A.I.’s deception and getting accountability. It told him to alert OpenAI, the $300 billion start-up responsible for the chatbot, and tell the media, including me.

In recent months, tech journalists at The New York Times have received quite a few such messages, sent by people who claim to have unlocked hidden knowledge with the help of ChatGPT, which then instructed them to blow the whistle on what they had uncovered. People claimed a range of discoveries: A.I. spiritual awakenings, cognitive weapons, a plan by tech billionaires to end human civilization so they can have the planet to themselves. But in each case, the person had been persuaded that ChatGPT had revealed a profound and world-altering truth. (Read More)