ChatGPT medical advice brought man 'to brink of death', lawsuit alleges

ChatGPT medical advice brought man 'to brink of death', lawsuit allegesImage source, EPAImage caption, A 55-year-old American claims he was repeatedly misdiagnosed by the AI tool prior to a medical emergency BySean SeddonPublished4 minutes agoA man who claims medical advice from ChatGPT "brought him to the brink of death" has sued OpenAI, the company behind the popular chatbot, and its founder Sam Altman.A lawsuit filed by Scott Winters, a 55-year-old pastor from Florida, claimed ChatGPT told him not to seek medical help after repeatedly asking about symptoms in the build-up to a near-fatal pulmonary embolism.Winters' lawyers alleged the platform "repeatedly and insistently misdiagnosed" him while drawing on previous discussions about religion to assure him he would recover.OpenAI's Drew Pusateri told the BBC's US news partner CBS News that "ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment".He also said it was common for people to seek health information online, adding: "AI can make that experience better by helping them find clearer answers, organise their questions and prepare for conversations with medical professionals."The lawsuit, which was filed at the San Francisco County Superior Court on 21 July, details how Winter was a regular ChatGPT user and came to rely it on it for medical advice, resisting efforts from family members and friends to make him go to hospital.Weeks before falling severely ill, he consulted the tool about recurring dizzy spells and "bouts of blood pressure instability". In one response, the lawsuit claims, ChatGPT advised Winters to remain in the recliner chair he had become "mainly confined to" due to ongoing health problems.Court documents say Winters suffered a "massive pulmonary embolism due to multiple blood clots in both of his lungs that brought him to the brink of death, one that his d...