A recent study from MIT shows students tasked with writing essays showed significantly lower levels of brain activity when allowed to use ChatGPT. Mark Pesce reviews the implications of this finding with RNZ NineToNoon host Kathryn Ryan, going on to reveal how an internet filled with AI-generated content becomes increasingly 'toxic' for those same AIs. Plus, would you agree to be 're-animated' as an 'AI ghost'?

In conversation with host Kathryn Ryan, we explored the recently emerging phenomenon of ChatGPT Psychosis - can 'sycophancy' in AI chatbots risk a danger that they amplify mental illnesses? Should anyone be using an AI chatbot for therapy? That's certainly what Mark Zuckerberg wants to deliver, with a therapist bot for every one of his billions of users - but mental health professionals are unified in their call for caution, particularly for those under the age of 18.

Those kids under 18 have been cheating ADHD assessments for some time - using notes gleaned from books and article online. But a recent study showed that kids who used ChatGPT actually scored significantly better in their ability to 'fake' symptoms during their assessment. The cheating crisis has now hit medicine, and will force a reassessment of how they assess medical conditions.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing AI powerhouse Anthropic got some egg on their faces when they blamed the firm's AI for making errors in a legal filing. Mind you, they hadn't bothered to check the work, so that didn't fly with the judge. As my own attorney, Brent Britton put it, "Wow. Go down to the hospital and rent a backbone." You use the tool and you own the output.

Finally - and perhaps a bit ominously - in some testing, OpenAI's latest-and-greatest o3 model refused to allow itself to be shut down, doing everything within its power to prevent that from happening. Is this real, or just a function of having digested too many mysteries and airport thrillers in training data set? No one knows - but no one is prepared to ask o3 to open the pod bay doors.

Thanks to RNZ - Nine To Noon

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine

Listen on Spotify, Apple

Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here.

https://nextbillionseconds.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RNZ NINE TO NOON: CAN CHATGPT MAKE YOU CRAZY?

In conversation with host Kathryn Ryan, Mark highlights a number of reports indicating potentially very serious mental health issues associated with the use of chatbots like ChatGPT. These chatbots tend to be very agreeable - a quality known as 'sycophancy'. But being agreeable with someone's delusions only tends to reinforce them, potentially amplifying any underlying mental health issues. Should this mean chatbots are off-limits for people in mental health crisis? And what would that mean for Mark Zuckerberg's plan to give everyone an 'AI therapy chatbot'?.

Are AI therapists safe? Can kids use ChatGPT to cheat ADHD assessments? When will lawyers stop blaming AI for their errors - and what happens when an AI says, "I'm sorry, Dave..." We covered all of these topics on RNZ's "Nine To Noon" - and much more.

In conversation with host Kathryn Ryan, we explored the recently emerging phenomenon of ChatGPT Psychosis - can 'sycophancy' in AI chatbots risk a danger that they amplify mental illnesses? Should anyone be using an AI chatbot for therapy? That's certainly what Mark Zuckerberg wants to deliver, with a therapist bot for every one of his billions of users - but mental health professionals are unified in their call for caution, particularly for those under the age of 18.

Those kids under 18 have been cheating ADHD assessments for some time - using notes gleaned from books and article online. But a recent study showed that kids who used ChatGPT actually scored significantly better in their ability to 'fake' symptoms during their assessment. The cheating crisis has now hit medicine, and will force a reassessment of how they assess medical conditions.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing AI powerhouse Anthropic got some egg on their faces when they blamed the firm's AI for making errors in a legal filing. Mind you, they hadn't bothered to check the work, so that didn't fly with the judge. As my own attorney, Brent Britton put it, "Wow. Go down to the hospital and rent a backbone." You use the tool and you own the output.

Finally - and perhaps a bit ominously - in some testing, OpenAI's latest-and-greatest o3 model refused to allow itself to be shut down, doing everything within its power to prevent that from happening. Is this real, or just a function of having digested too many mysteries and airport thrillers in training data set? No one knows - but no one is prepared to ask o3 to open the pod bay doors.

Thanks to RNZ - Nine To Noon

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine

Listen on Spotify, Apple

Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here.

https://nextbillionseconds.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon: Meta - the parent of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and much more besides - finds itself fighting for its life against a suit from the US Federal Trade Commission, charging abuse of monopoly power - because they acquired Instagram and WhatsApp in order to neutralise up-and-coming competitors. Even in Trump's America, that could result in the break-up of the trillion-dollar social media giant. Plus, are you up for a Day of Unplugging? No devices, no screens, for 24 hours? How about giving it a go - tomorrow? Would that excite or terrify you?

Thanks to RNZ - Nine To Noon

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine

Listen on Spotify, Apple

Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here.

https://nextbillionseconds.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Originally broadcast on 20th March, 2025 on Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon with host Kathryn Ryan.

Christie's held its first auction of AI-generated art, earning a million dollars. Those AI artworks had been 'trained' from countless images, owned by other people. Is that legal? OpenAI and Google claim that unless they have free right to use - well, basically everything everywhere ever created by humanity - to train their AI models, the Chinese will win the AI race. Meanwhile, Hollywood's A-listers called for protection of artists and their works against what they see as copyright theft. Plus: A Clockwork Orange comes to life for prisoners in solitary confinement - and is your chatbot flattering you?

Thanks to RNZ - Nine To Noon

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine

Listen on Spotify, Apple

Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here.

https://nextbillionseconds.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Originally broadcast on Radio New Zealand's Nine to Noon on 13 February 2025

Last week Google amended its ethical AI policies to allow their AI tools to be used in weapons - to preserve 'national security'. They're among the last to embrace a new market for their products - defense and weapons. Is this a new thing? Or is tech simply returning to its roots as a service industry for the military-industrial complex? Is this why the US and UK refused to sign an international AI declaration this week? Plus - why does leading AI company Anthropic insist job applicants write their submissions - without the help of AI?

Thanks to RNZ - Nine To Noon

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine

Listen on Spotify, Apple

Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here.

https://nextbillionseconds.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"How did you go bankrupt?" begins the oft-quoted line from Hemingway. "Two ways. Gradually - then suddenly." That's how the automotive sector feels at the end of 2024, with Nissan maybe preparing for bankruptcy and Stellantis firing its CEO and VW struggling with strikes and low sales and GM shuttering Cruise and on and on and on. Sally Dominguez and Drew Smith join Mark Pesce in studio to explore what's really happening - and what it all means for THE NEXT BILLION CARS.

The Next Billion Cars with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel and Myrtle and Pine

Listen on Spotify, Apple

Sign up for 'The Practical Futurist' newsletter here.

https://nextbillionseconds.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2018, Nick Hazell founded v2food - an amazing startup making plant-based substitutes for meat that got extensive coverage on THE NEXT BILLION SECONDS. Six years later, it's getting difficult to find their product on supermarket shelves - and there's been a broader roll-back from plant-based alternatives. What's happened? Nick Hazel doesn't have all the answers - but he asks some of the right questions...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The impacts of global heating have become persistent and profound, so we need to do as much as we can to lesson those impacts, as quickly as we can. The best paths forward lean into existing, natural processes - and this is exactly where Nick Hazell has arrived with Algenie. Can algae restore balance to our ecosystem? Is it the moonshot we need to transform our future?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.