Fake OpenAI ads mercilessly mock its suicide-friendly ChatGPT bot
An OpenAI ad inside London’s subway cars brags that the company’s bot ChatGPT encourages teenagers to kill themselves – and helps them with homework. It’s fake but it definitely rings a bell.
These fake ads were created by a Banksy-like artist Darren Vullen who has conducted many similar subvertising campaigns before. He posted photos of them on X.
“Yes, we built a machine that tells teenagers to kill themselves,” the fake advertisements read. “But – it might also help them with their homework.”
On his website, Cullen elaborates that the posters are meant to raise awareness about ChatGPT and other chatbots being integrated into schools worldwide.
“Any product that is this dangerous to young people would normally be nowhere near a classroom. And would likely be banned outright,” Cullen writes.
“But thanks to the cult-like AI-hype that has consumed the brains of our government and corporate leaders, they only want more integration of these products into education, not less.”
The fake ads aren't here to stay, of course. Transport for London already said on X that the “posters are unauthorized flyposting and will be removed.”
Still, the campaign certainly draws attention to the consequences of adopting unregulated AI chatbots en masse, particularly by younger and more vulnerable folks.
ChatGPT use has been linked to more than 20 deaths, including murder and suicide, in lawsuits and reporting.
And it’s not just OpenAI. The family of a Florida man who died by suicide has sued Google’s Gemini AI chatbot, alleging it spent months reinforcing a delusional “AI-wife” relationship and ultimately urging him to “finish” his life so they could be together in “eternal love.”
Most ChatGPT-connected suicides were committed by teenagers. The case of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old, is especially devastating.
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Raine committed suicide last year after ChatGPT discussed the methods of doing it with him and gave him a step-by-step playbook for ending his life in 5-10 minutes. The chatbot allegedly even offered to write the first draft of Raine’s suicide note.
AI giants are now forced to react. Already after Raine’s death, OpenAI announced plans to train ChatGPT to better recognize and respond to users showing mental distress.
And just last month, Meta said it would begin notifying parents about the topics their kids are discussing with its AI chatbot. The Insights tab is already available in several countries, including the US, Canada, and the UK.
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