Teaching at a school that has four student deaths by suicide in the past four years, this issue is especially important. I am a little bit skeptical about the more sensationalist journalistic reports about AI induced psychosis as this seems to fit the pattern of what the philosopher of science Ian Hacking once referred to as "transient mental illness." (ie Multiple Personality Disorder or Ambluatory Fugue). But I am quite convinced of the deleterious mental health impact of social media - and AI as well (depending on how it's used).
When confronted with the question, "Is multiple personality disorder real?" or "Are fugue states real?" Hacking always deflects the ontological question by exposing its imprecision. A real what? Real as a biological entity? Real as lived experience? Real as social phenomenon? Real as historical category? Each framing produces different answers and reveals different assumptions about what constitutes reality.
A timely article. Thank you. Teachers may want to emphasize these points in the classroom. As though they do not already have enough responsibility! Which reminds me of a previous post of yours that emphasized that parents need to be in the loop.
Teaching at a school that has four student deaths by suicide in the past four years, this issue is especially important. I am a little bit skeptical about the more sensationalist journalistic reports about AI induced psychosis as this seems to fit the pattern of what the philosopher of science Ian Hacking once referred to as "transient mental illness." (ie Multiple Personality Disorder or Ambluatory Fugue). But I am quite convinced of the deleterious mental health impact of social media - and AI as well (depending on how it's used).
When confronted with the question, "Is multiple personality disorder real?" or "Are fugue states real?" Hacking always deflects the ontological question by exposing its imprecision. A real what? Real as a biological entity? Real as lived experience? Real as social phenomenon? Real as historical category? Each framing produces different answers and reveals different assumptions about what constitutes reality.
It's challenging when you're interacting with it because it does really feel like you're conversing with another person, especially GPT-4.
A timely article. Thank you. Teachers may want to emphasize these points in the classroom. As though they do not already have enough responsibility! Which reminds me of a previous post of yours that emphasized that parents need to be in the loop.
My fear is that most people won't know until it's too late. The anonymity of AI is very appealing to teenagers.