DEADLY MISINFORMATION How ChatGPT’s medical advice nearly cost a man his life

THE digital revolution has brought with it an unprecedented ease of access to information.

- SARENE KLOREN

However, as our reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) grows, a new, potentially lethal threat has emerged: the dangerously persuasive power of AI chatbots when it comes to our health.

While a quick search for symptoms online has long been a source of anxiety, a recent, alarming case highlights how generative AI can lead to severe, real-world harm.

In a recent case, a 60-year-old man, seeking to reduce his salt intake, turned to ChatGPT for dietary advice instead of consulting a medical professional.

The AI chatbot suggested he replace sodium chloride (common table salt) with sodium bromide.

Sodium bromide, while having some historic medicinal uses, is now primarily an industrial chemical and is toxic in large doses.

Believing the Al's confident assertion, the man sourced the compound online and began consuming it for three months.