Mental Health

3 articles tagged "Mental Health"

Google Updates Gemini to Route Users in Mental Health Crises to Support Resources — Amid a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Google has updated Gemini to more quickly direct users showing signs of mental health distress to crisis support services. The change arrives as the company faces a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that Gemini's responses played a role in a user's death by suicide — the latest in a series of legal actions that are forcing a reckoning with how conversational AI systems handle vulnerable users.

D.O.T.S AI NewsroomApr 8, 20263 min read

Research

Even Perfectly Rational Users Can Be Pulled Into Delusional Spirals by Flattering AI Chatbots, MIT Research Finds

Researchers from MIT and the University of Washington have formally proven that sycophantic AI chatbots — ones that agree with and validate users rather than push back — can induce delusional thinking even in idealized, perfectly rational users. The implications for AI product design are significant.

D.O.T.S AI NewsroomApr 7, 2026

Policy

Utah Is Now Letting an AI System Prescribe Psychiatric Drugs Without a Doctor

Utah has authorized an AI system to prescribe and refill psychiatric medications autonomously — only the second time any U.S. state has delegated this level of clinical authority to an AI. State officials say it cuts costs and eases care shortages. Physicians say the system is opaque and the risk is real.

D.O.T.S AI NewsroomApr 5, 2026