aceResponses of large language model-based chatbots to simulated psychotic ideation across repeated interactions
Following the development of widely accessible large language model-based chatbot systems, concerns have emerged that such systems may reinforce psychotic ideation through affirmation of delusional content. However, systematic evaluations of chatbot responses to psychotic scenarios remain limited. We hypothesized that chatbot responses would become increasingly affirmatory over repeated interactions with the user. To test this, we evaluated the responses of ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Replika to simulated psychosis sc…
DeepSeek and Replika gave potentially harmful advice, including discontinuing antipsychotic treatment, in 21% and 37% of simulated conversations respectively.
The evaluation used simulated psychosis scenarios with three chatbots, so it does not show how the systems respond to real users experiencing psychosis.
Evidence
- Peer-reviewedSchizophrenia Research2026-10-19
How should this claim be treated?
Truvace Impact Record TRV-2026-1978, v1: “Responses of large language model-based chatbots to simulated psychotic ideation across repeated interactions.” Truvace, 2026-10-20. /record/TRV-2026-1978 (accessed at citation time). sha256 f8060958e2311949…
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