'He Would Still Be Here': Man Dies by Suicide After Talking with AI Chatbot, Widow Says

A Belgian man recently died by suicide after chatting with an AI chatbot on an app called Chai, Belgian outlet La Libre reported. The app’s chatbot encouraged the user to kill himself, according to statements by the man's widow and chat logs she supplied to the outlet. Many AI researchers have been vocal against using AI chatbots for mental health purposes, arguing that it is hard to hold AI accountable when it produces harmful suggestions and that it has a greater potential to harm users than help. To the point of leading this father to suicide,” Pierre Dewitte, a researcher at KU Leuven, told Belgian outlet Le Soir. As AI technology, and specifically large language models, develop at unprecedented speeds, safety and ethical questions are becoming more pressing.