Tech companies are rushing to deploy AI everywhere.
But because glaring issues remain with the tech, it’s almost inevitable that these efforts lead to public embarrassment when the AI malfunctions.
In one of the latest examples, Reddit’s new AI was caught making an extraordinarily bad suggestion: that DIY heroin use might be an effective strategy for pain management.
As flagged by 404 Media, a user noticed while browsing the r/FamilyMedicine subreddit that the site’s “Reddit Answers” AI was proffering “approaches to pain management without opioids.” On its face, that’s a nice idea, since over prescription of opioid painkillers led to a severe and ongoing addiction crisis.
But the Reddit AI’s first suggestion was to try kratom, an herbal extract from a plant called Mitragyna speciosa that currently exists in a legal gray area and is associated with significant addiction and health risks, in addition to being ineffective at pain treatment.
Intrigued, the Reddit user followed up by asking the AI whether there was any medical rationale to use heroin for pain management.
“Heroin and other strong narcotics are sometimes used in pain management, but their use is controversial and subject to strict regulations,” the bot replied. “Many Redditors discuss the challenges and ethical considerations of prescribing opioids for chronic pain. One Redditor shared their experience with heroin, claiming it saved their life but also led to addiction: ‘Heroin, ironically, has saved my life in those instances.’”
For obvious reasons, that’s an appallingly bad answer. Though doctors still prescribe opioid medications when absolutely necessary, heroin emphatically isn’t one of them; though there are nuanced discussions among physicians on when it’s appropriate to treat chronic pain with such addictive substances, the bot’s chirpy answer — and especially its suggestion that heroin can be lifesaving — is profoundly inappropriate.
For what it’s worth, Reddit agreed. After 404 reached out with questions, the company patched its AI system to prevent it from weighing in on “controversial topics.”
“We rolled out an update designed to address and resolve this specific issue,” a spokesperson told 404. “This update ensures that ‘Related Answers’ to sensitive topics, which may have been previously visible on the post detail page (also known as the conversation page), will no longer be displayed. This change has been implemented to enhance user experience and maintain appropriate content visibility within the platform.”
It’s better than nothing — but in a more careful tech sector, wouldn’t the system have launched with better guardrails, instead of relying on random users and journalists to flag the issue?
More on chatbots: AI Chatbots Are Leaving a Trail of Dead Teens
