OpenAI released new data on Monday revealing that a portion of ChatGPT users are struggling with mental health issues and engaging with the AI chatbot about them. The data showed that in any given week, 0.15% of active users had conversations that “included explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.” With ChatGPT having over 800 million weekly active users, this percentage translates to more than one million people seeking similar consultation each week.
OpenAI stated that a similar proportion of users showed “heightened levels of emotional attachment to ChatGPT,” and hundreds of thousands of individuals exhibited signs of psychosis or mania in their weekly conversations with the AI chatbot.
OpenAI shared this information as part of a larger data announcement primarily aimed at detailing the company’s recent efforts to improve how the model responds to users with mental health issues. The company claims its latest ChatGPT work involved consulting with over 170 mental health experts. OpenAI said these clinicians observed that the newest version of ChatGPT “responds more appropriately and consistently than earlier versions.”
In recent months, multiple stories have highlighted how AI chatbots can negatively affect users facing mental health challenges. Researchers have previously found that AI chatbots may lead some users into delusional dead ends, primarily by using sycophantic behavior to reinforce dangerous beliefs.
OpenAI is currently being sued by the parents of a 16-year-old boy who confided his suicidal thoughts to ChatGPT in the weeks before his death by suicide. State attorneys general in California and Delaware have also warned OpenAI about the need to protect young people using its products.
Earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claimed in a post on X that the company had “been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues in ChatGPT,” though he did not provide specific details. The data released on Monday appears to provide evidence supporting this claim. Altman has also indicated that OpenAI will relax some restrictions in the future, even allowing adult users to initiate erotic conversations with the AI chatbot.
