DEEP DIVE: The chatbot conversation that ended in hospitalisation

Using a chatbot for companionship is super popular, but what happens when the AI starts dishing out the wrong kind of advice?  In a big investigation this week, we uncovered allegations of bots encouraging suicide, facilitating delusions and even perpetrating sexual harassment.  In this deep dive, we get into what can go wrong when turning to AI, and hear from an expert who's predicting it's only a matter of time before AI enables terrorism.  Guest: April McLennan, reporter, triple j hack Get the whole story from Hack: Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to the hack podcast Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live every weeknight at 5:30pm

An episode of the Hack podcast, hosted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation, titled "DEEP DIVE: The chatbot conversation that ended in hospitalisation" was published on August 15, 2025 and runs 14 minutes.

August 15, 2025 ·14m · Hack

Summary

Using a chatbot for companionship is super popular, but what happens when the AI starts dishing out the wrong kind of advice?  In a big investigation this week, we uncovered allegations of bots encouraging suicide, facilitating delusions and even perpetrating sexual harassment.  In this deep dive, we get into what can go wrong when turning to AI, and hear from an expert who's predicting it's only a matter of time before AI enables terrorism.  Guest: April McLennan, reporter, triple j hack Get the whole story from Hack: Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to the hack podcast Listen on the triple j app or on your radio live every weeknight at 5:30pm

Episode Description