David Allen Batchelor

Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.

We spent a long time thoroughly reporting this. Read (and share) the whole, deep-dive article here: (🎁 gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/t...

An OpenAI spokeswoman said the company was “focused on getting scenarios like role play right” and was “investing in improving model behavior over time, guided by research, real-world use and mental health experts.”

OpenAI released GPT-5 this week and said one focus area was reduced sycophancy.

Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.

NEW from @kashhill.bsky.social and me:

Over three weeks in May, a man became convinced by ChatGPT that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders.

Otherwise perfectly sane, Allan Brooks is part of a growing number of people getting into chatbot-induced delusional spirals. This is his story.

"Syncophantic Improv Machine"
- from a sub-head in this @kashhill.bsky.social article

The WSJ also has a story out on chatbot delusions today. Very well done. They analyzed the ChatGPT chats that were publicly exposed because their users chose to index them in search engines. 100/96K were delusional: www.wsj.com/tech/ai/i-fe...

Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens.

New story out from me and @dylanfreedman.nytimes.com about how and why chatbots go into delusional spirals that can cause people to have mental breakdowns. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/t...

Without federal funding, public media — and the truth-telling, community-connecting role it plays — is at risk.

Local stations may vanish. Millions could lose trusted news and vital information. If you are ready to join the fight for journalism, donate now: n.pr/458sOhq

The corruption is epic. They’re gonna pardon Ghislaine Maxwell in return for a list of Democrats. Just watch.

Trump tells Israel to ‘finish the job’ against Hamas weeks after suggesting ceasefire deal in sight | CNN Politics Only a few weeks ago, President Donald Trump seemed confident a deal was days away that would end the fighting in Gaza, secure the release of hostages and allow aid to flow into an enclave where peopl...

encouraging deliberate starvation, ethnic cleansing and endless war.. what a disgrace to the US to be cheering this monstrous, purposeless endeavor www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/p...

Yesterday, Wilmer Chavarria, a Vermonter & US Citizen, was held and interrogated for hours in the Houston airport by CBP agents.

He's a school superintendent. So don’t try to tell us this is about removing violent criminals. This is how they use psychological terror to intimidate us into silence.

YouTube video by MSNBC 'Not even a close call': Joe calls Hegseth’s Signal breach far worse than Clinton’s emails

'Not even a close call': Joe calls Hegseth’s Signal breach far worse than Clinton’s emails youtu.be/mWuBb5hinwI

Here’s a tell: reporting is that Maxwell put together the Epstein birthday book; Trump said his letter in it is a fake. Did he lie? She likely knows.

The FBI found so much material about Trump in the Epstein files that Republicans have no choice but to call for a special prosecutor to investigate Barack Obama.

Tampa federal prosecutor fired by Pam Bondi to sue over dismissal Michael Gordon, who handled cases against Jan. 6 rioters, was abruptly dismissed last month in the midst of a high-profile fraud case

#Tampa federal prosecutor fired by Pam #Bondi to sue over dismissal.
Michael Gordon, who handled cases against Jan. 6 #J6 rioters, was abruptly dismissed last month in the midst of a high-profile fraud case. #Resist www.tampabay.com/news/2025/07...

Jonathan Turley is Mike Lindell with tenure.

It astounds me that George Washington Law School has the audacity to charge students money to sit in his classroom.

🙏 Thank you❗ Firefighter crews from

✨California,
✨Florida,
✨Minnesota, and
✨New Jersey

for #OregonWildFires 🙏

Donald Trump is the worst President in US history, it’s not even close.

'South Park' mocks Paramount's settlement with Trump after creators sign $1.5B deal In the season premiere of the profane animated series, Jesus Christ urges South Park's townspeople to settle a legal dispute with Trump — or else they'll "end up like Colbert."

www.nbcnews.com/business/med...

Grim, but perhaps a light at the end of the tunnel. For years it seemed the cult had a limitless ability to warp their reality for Trump's benefit, but maybe Epstein is the skeleton key to unlock the cognitive dissonance and make some of them see what's been obvious for years.

Maybe.

An Inventor Is Injecting Bleach Into Cancerous Tumors—and Wants to Bring the Treatment to the US A Chinese man with no medical training is injecting cancer patients with a toxic bleach solution; a full course of treatment runs $20,000. He's now working to bring the unproven treatment to the US.

NEW

For decades, pseudoscience grifters urged followers to drink toxic bleach solutions.

Now one inventor is going even further, injecting cancer patients with highly-concentrated doses of the bleach solution.

Next, he wants to bring it to the US

www.wired.com/story/danger...

SCIENCE UNDER SIEGE | Kirkus Reviews Pursuing science and truth in the age of disinformation.

Science Under Siege, the forthcoming book by Michael E. Mann (@michaelemann.bsky.social) and Peter J. Hotez (@peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social), offers "[a] necessary and propulsive argument that offers optimism in the face of one of the world's most destructive forces." #Nonfiction #BookSky

Covering for a sexual predator while detaining anyone who is not white is the new America. Time for white people to rise 🆙. See #’s 18 and 20:

There are many conspiracy theories surrounding the Epstein case.

I would argue that pursuing whether Donald Trump (an adjudicated rapist who Epstein said was his closest friend) is covering up evidence that he sexually abused children with Epstein isn't a conspiracy theory. It's basic oversight.

The US fertility rate reached a new low in 2024, CDC data shows New federal data shows the fertility rate in the U.S. dropped to an all-time low in 2024 with less than 1.6 kids per woman.

The U.S. fertility rate hit a record low in 2024, 1.59 births per woman. Below replacement level, and still dropping.

It's not a mystery why this is happening. It’s lack of support: no childcare, no leave, no security.

People aren’t “anti-family.” We’re broke. Fix the system, or keep shrinking.

“Just to be clear: The director of national intelligence for the United States of America is making allegations against a former U.S. presidential candidate based on material from Russia’s intelligence services.”
Follow @hcrichardson.bsky.social

bsky.app/profile/eliz...

It’s taken like two fulls days for them to get behind springing Epstein’s *only known, confirmed and convicted accomplice in sexually abusing middle school girls*

Trump claims he is going to reduce drug prices by 1,000 percent