John Oliver on Sunday sounded the alarm on AI chatbots.

The “Last Week Tonight” host warned how a lack of guardrails across the industry has already had devastating consequences for some users who have allegedly been encouraged to have thoughts of suicide and experienced delusional thinking.

Oliver pointed to one AI researcher’s damning assessment as the perfect summary:

“I think we may actually be at literally the worst moment in AI history because we have the weakest guardrails right now. We have the weakest understanding of what they do and yet there’s so much enthusiasm that there’s a widespread adoption. It’s a little bit like the earliest days of airplanes. The worst day to be on an intercontinental plane would have been the first day.”

Oliver argued that more checks are needed, which may only be enforced if it’s easier for people to sue chatbot makers for negligence.

He also urged parents to check how their children are using chatbots and warned anyone predisposed to mental health struggles to treat the apps “with extreme caution.”

“If you do find yourself in crisis, the National Suicide Hotline is just three numbers. It’s 988,” he said. “It really feels like it shouldn’t be that hard for a fucking chatbot to point you there, but apparently for some it is.”

Oliver concluded by stressing that, at the end of the day, chatbots mimicking friends or lovers are just a machine and “behind that machine is a corporation trying to extract a monthly fee from you.”

He said, “And that kind of sums up for me what is so dystopian about all this.”

Watch Oliver’s full analysis here:

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

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