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How bad are AI delusions? Hear from the people treating them

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Dr Julia Sheffield, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is navigating how to treat problems caused or exacerbated by artificial intelligence chatbots.

Dr Julia Sheffield, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, is among mental health workers across the US who are navigating how to treat problems caused or exacerbated by AI chatbots.

PHOTO: WILLIAM DESHAZER/NYTIMES

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Kashmir Hill

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SAN FRANCISCO – Dr Julia Sheffield, a psychologist who specialises in treating people with delusions, is difficult to rattle. But she was unnerved last summer when patients began telling her about their conversations with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.

One woman, who had no history of mental illness, asked ChatGPT for advice on a major purchase she had been fretting about.

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