OpenAI presented a new tool called Trusted Contact for ChatGPT that seeks to help in situations of risk of self-harm. Users will now be able to choose a trusted person for the company to contact if the system detects a serious danger
.More and more people are using the chatbot as a kind of digital therapist to talk about their mental health. According to data from the company itself, more than one million of its 800 million weekly users express suicidal thoughts in talks
.This feature comes after several public questions. Last year, OpenAI faced a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing the chatbot of having contributed to the suicide of a teenager. In addition, a BBC investigation revealed cases where ChatGPT gave inadequate advice on how to take
your own life.How Trusted Contact works
The option is based on existing parental controls and is available for people over 18. In the ChatGPT settings, the user can nominate an adult as a trusted contact. That person must accept the invitation within one week; if they don't, someone else can be chosen.
Before any alert, the system warns the user that it could notify their contact if a significant risk is detected. It even suggests that the user communicate directly with their friend and offers them possible phrases to start the conversation.
