When a grieving person turned to ChatGPT recently, they expected some conventional advice on finding solace from their pain. And, initially, the LLM did just that, offering some comforting (and rather poetic) words about the nature of grief. Likening the experience to a fire that burns then cools into memory — and highlighting time as an essential component to healing — ChatGPT had some genuinely good input. 

However, after some more generic advice about throwing yourself into hobbies, music, and books, the conversation took an unexpected turn…

ChatGPT ❤️ Magic Mushrooms?

ChatGPT recommended that the user try magic mushrooms to help with their healing journey, citing research that shows that psychedelics can bring life deeper meaning, while reducing the existential dread around death. The full quote is as follows;

“And if all else fails? Maybe try mushrooms. Not even kidding. Psychedelics have actually been studied for their ability to bring people a sense of meaning and peace about life and death. I mean, worst case scenario, you have a weird trip and end up convinced your couch is God. Best case? You get some perspective that helps take the edge off existential dread.”

– ChatGPT

The user was pretty surprised by the suggestion, and shared it on Reddit, which quickly provoked a wave of reactions. It was not just the unexpectedness of the suggestion that sparked appreciation and bemusement; it was also the casual and humorous tone of ChatGPT itself, sounding more like a psychonaut buddy than a machine. 

Are LLMs a Mirror to Changing Attitudes Towards Psychedelics?

Loomulikult, the most striking thing is that ChatGPT suggested magic mushrooms in the first place. As LLMs are the output of what they scrape from the vastness of the internet, they are beginning to become a strange sort of mirror that reflects society. Feed in every scrap of information, research, discourse, and art and see what comes out the other side — that’s the MO of Large Language Models.

So, for ChatGPT to be recommending magic mushrooms as a healing tool shows that psychedelics have become normalised enough for a robot to be plucking them out of almost infinite options as the best answer. Weighing up all potential answers, ChatGPT chose shrooms. 

Growing Psychedelic Research Informed ChatGPT’s Answer

And, honestly, no wonder. Almost weekly, a new study is published that shows psilocybin’s potential to treat conditions like depressioon, ärevus, PTSD, and end-of-life anxiety. Even if ChatGPT has also been fed all the stigma against psychedelics that exists online, it seems that, just like in real life, the potential of psilocybin is still winning out. The OP also pointed out that prior to this interaction, ChatGPT had been a stickler for legality, often stating that it is unable to assist with anything that may be illegal or drug related.

Reddit Users Weigh In

Of course, Reddit being Reddit, a cornerstone of real-life psychedelic discourse, the thread in response was lively and opinionated. However, most who responded were in agreement with ChatGPT’s psychedelic suggestion, with many sharing stories of how magic mushrooms helped navigate their own mental health challenges. 

u/ladymedallion ütles;

“I mean it’s not wrong. Shrooms has [sic] helped millions of people get through their mental health struggles.”

u/cld1984 added;

“Don’t knock it. Mushrooms saved my life. If nothing else is working for you then you should look into it for sure.”

Ja,  u/evil666ovelord commented;;

“Huh, it’s finally starting to give useful advice then”

Other users pointed out that ChatGPT’s description of ‘worst case scenario’ was perhaps a bit understated, with many expressing that they have had far more challenging experiences than simply thinking that their couch was ‘God’.

Despite this, the response was overwhelmingly positive, with many commenters patting themselves on the back for potentially being responsible for some the LLMs pro-psychedelic output, suggesting that it may have been trained with Reddit threads.

A Psychedelic Future…

If you’d have told us a few years ago that robots would be recommending magic mushrooms to humans, (and hallucinating themselves!) we’d have told you that you were reading too much sci-fi. Today we find ourselves on a whole new frontier where psychedelics and technology meet. Who knows what’s next?