Reddit’s conversational AI product, Reddit Answers, suggested users who are interested in pain management try heroin and kratom, showing yet another extreme example of dangerous advice provided by a chatbot, even one that’s trained on Reddit’s highly coveted trove of user-generated data.
The AI-generated answers were flagged by a user on a subreddit for Reddit moderation issues. The user noticed that while looking at a thread on the r/FamilyMedicine subreddit on the official Reddit mobile app, the app suggested a couple of “Related Answers” via Reddit Answers, the company’s “AI-powered conversational interface.” One of them, titled “Approaches to pain management without opioids,” suggested users try kratom, an herbal extract from the leaves of a tree called Mitragyna speciosa. Kratom is not designated as a controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration, but is illegal in some states. The Federal Drug Administration warns consumers not to use kratom “because of the risk of serious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder,” and the Mayo Clinic calls it “unsafe and ineffective.”’
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