A 60-year-old man reportedly asked ChatGPT to find a replacement for table salt, fearing its effects. As a result, he consumed bromide for months and suffered from hallucinations and paranoia. He had effectively poisoned himself.
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According to a report made by the Annals of Internal Medicine, the man arrived at a local emergency department, worried that he had been poisoned by his neighbor. His vital signs were normal, as well as his results following physical and neurologic examinations.
His lab results, however, showed high levels of chloride in his blood (hyperchloremia) and a low phosphate level, among other abnormal levels. He was admitted for electrolyte monitoring and repletion.
While admitted, the man shared that he distilled his own water at home and that he was maintaining several dietary restrictions. He was very thirsty, but he became paranoid when he was offered water.
For the next 24 hours, the man expressed an increasing paranoia and auditory and visual hallucinations. At one point, the 60-year-old man tried to escape, which resulted in an “involuntary psychiatric hold for grave disability.”
After receiving appropriate treatment, the medical staff was able to stabilize him. Upon treatment, the man reported that he had recently noticed several symptoms. These included insomnia, fatigue, facial acne, and cherry angiomas (red bumps in the skin), among others.
Doctors noted the man’s symptoms to be consistent with bromism, or bromide toxicity.
Suffering From Bromism
It was then that the man shared that he had been reading about the medical effects that sodium chloride, that is, table salt, has on one’s health. Due to the apparent lack of literature regarding dietary sodium reduction and inspired by his college nutrition education, he carried out an experiment.
In a “consultation” with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the man was told that he could swap the sodium chloride with sodium bromide. He replaced and consumed the newfound chemical for three months. He had reached a whopping bromide level of 1700 mg/L. The reference range is between 0.9 to 7.3 mg/L, as per the report.
Bromide toxicity was particularly common in the early 20th century, contributing up to 8% of all psychiatric admissions at the time, as per the report. Bromism cases dramatically declined after the FDA eliminated the use of bromide between 1975 and 1989. However, bromism cases have reemerged in recent years, with the chemical being found in dietary supplements and sedatives.
Weeks after his admission, the man was discharged. The report authors weren’t able to access the man’s ChatGPT conversations. However, they did receive an identical recommendation on the AI’s behalf.
“It is important to consider that ChatGPT and other AI systems can generate scientific inaccuracies, lack the ability to critically discuss results, and ultimately fuel the spread of misinformation,” the report added.