As Adam Raine’s distress grew the machine continued to simulate a 'friend' uniquely capable of understanding him. Photograph: Mark Abramson/The New York Times
When he first started using ChatGPT a little over a year ago, Adam Raine was going to it for the same things as millions of other teenagers. The 16-year-old from California asked questions about geometry, university admissions processes and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
ChatGPT was “overwhelmingly friendly, always helpful and available” and – if you’ve used it yourself, you’ll recognise in this phrase its cloying, sycophantic mode of engagement – “always validating”.
Over time, Adam opened up more: he shared his anxiety and confided that he felt “life is meaningless”. Legal papers filed by his parents show the model responding as it was designed to: with ingratiating, affirming messages that mirrored his tone and effectively mimicked empathy.
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