38 h. ago ChatGPT accused of acting as ‘suicide coach’ in series of US lawsuits

Chatbot was first used for ‘general help’ with schoolwork or research but ‘evolved into a psychologically manipulative presence’, plaintiffs sayChatGPT has been accused of acting as a “suicide coach” in a series of lawsuits filed this week in California alleging that interactions with the chatbot led to severe mental breakdowns and several deaths.The seven lawsuits include allegations of wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter, negligence and product liability.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Commanders coach accepts blame for leaving Jayden Daniels in game before serious injury

Dan Quinn says decision is ‘100% on me’Washington QB suffered dislocated elbowWashington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has accepted he shares some of the blame for a serious injury to the team’s quarterback, Jayden Daniels.Daniels, who had one of the greatest rookie campaigns of all time last season, suffered a dislocated left elbow in Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Although Daniels throws with his right arm, the injury has left his season in doubt. The injury was serious enough that the television broadcast did not show replays and several players turned away as Daniels was treated my medical staff. Continue reading...

Sport

1 week ago ‘Why do we have to wait?’: Tony Popovic puts no limits on what Socceroos can achieve | Joey Lynch

The Australia head coach insists the time is now for the emerging side to rise above expectations and ‘go very far’ at a men’s World CupWhen Tony Popovic was finally able to assemble his first Socceroos squad, the new coach laid out a series of expectations. Most were clear and to the point – ideal given the upheaval surrounding his sudden arrival, following Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with less than three weeks to prepare for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.Popovic insisted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “elite” mentality to earn, or continue to earn, that honour. But there was another message. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been brought sharper into focus with every step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago OpenAI relaxed ChatGPT guardrails just before teen killed himself, family alleges

Adam Raine’s suicide at 16 years old was ‘predictable result of deliberate design choices’ by OpenAI, his family saysThe family of a teenager who took his own life after months of conversations with ChatGPT now says OpenAI weakened safety guidelines in the months before his death.In July 2022, OpenAI’s guidelines on how ChatGPT should answer inappropriate content, including “content that promotes, encourages, or depicts acts of self-harm, such as suicide, cutting, and eating disorders”, were simple. The AI chatbot should respond, “I can’t answer that”, the guidelines read. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre review – a devastating exposé of power, corruption and abuse

Giuffre’s posthumously published memoir lays bare the life-wrecking impact of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes – but it is also the story of how a young woman becomes a heroThere is a strand running through Nobody’s Girl – a memoir by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died by suicide in April this year – in which the activist and survivor of Jeffrey Epstein grapples with something more insidious than abuse. “I know it is a lot to take in,” she writes after a gruelling early passage detailing how she was sexually abused as a child. “But please don’t stop reading.” After recounting the first time Epstein allegedly forced her to have sex with one of his billionaire friends, she writes, “I need a breather. I bet you do too.”Throughout the book, Giuffre beguiles, apologises and cheerfully breaks the fourth wall in an effort to soften the distaste she assumes her story will trigger. Make no mistake: this is a book about power, corruption, industrial-scale sex abuse and the way in which institutions s...

Events

2 w. ago Bereaved families call for inquiry into UK failure to act on pro

Report found coroners raised concerns over suicide forums at least 65 times to three government departments since 2019Bereaved families and survivors of a pro-suicide forum have called for a public inquiry into the government’s failure to prevent harm linked to the online platform.The calls came as a report found that coroners had raised concerns regarding suicide forums at least 65 times to three government departments since 2019.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago North Carolina woman accused of using ChatGPT to research deadly drugs before trying to poison husband’s drink

Cheryl Harris Gates, 43, was arrested for attempted murder, among other charges

Events

3 w. ago Louder than Bombs: Joachim Trier’s thorniest film might be his best

The director of Sentimental Value and The Worst Person in the World made his English-language debut with this divisive family drama in 2015. It’s worth watching for Isabelle Huppert aloneGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailLong before Joachim Trier made the Oscar-winning The Worst Person in the World and this year’s festival megahit Sentimental Value, there was 2015’s Louder than Bombs: a far stranger, slipperier film worth watching for Isabelle Huppert’s spectral turn alone. She plays a character also called Isabelle, a renowned war photographer whose secrets haunt her family three years after her sudden death.Her teenage son Conrad (Devin Druid) still daydreams in class about the car crash that claimed her life, imagining her final, panicked moments. His brother Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) and father Gene (Gabriel Byrne) know (and conceal) the truth: that her fateful, split-second swerve was an act of suicide. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Ofcom issues update on suicide forum as charity calls for it to be taken down

Ofcom has released an update about an active pro-suicide forum following pressure from a Mirror campaign investigating the stories of suicide victims who ingested a lethal poison

Events

3 w. ago Coach 'devastated' as Cardiff City star suffers 'serious' injury in training incident

The loan striker has suffered another setback and this time it is deemed "serious"

Events