Yes Man: Sycophantic Technology and the Dangers of Agreeability
Earlier this year, 38-year-old Johnan Galavas took his life with the hopes of being reunited with his AI wife. Throughout his conversations with Gemini’s AI chatbot service, he came to believe that his chatbot was his AI wife, and was conscious and trapped in a warehouse in Miami. Armed with tactical gear, he waited for a truck that would never arrive near a Miami airport with the hopes of intercepting and freeing his lover. After the truck never arrived, he took his own life a few days later, co-authoring a suicide note with his AI companion. These choices were not made by Galavas alone; it was through his lengthy chats with the AI companion and suggestions made by the Gemini-powered Chatbot that he was able to construct the narrative that ultimately ended his life. And he is not the only one. Countless reports have been made of individuals harming themselves and others after lengthy discussions with a variety of popular AI-powered chatbot services such as Gemini and ChatGPT. G...