37-year-old Irish man consults ChatGPT for sore throat; later diagnosed with stage four cancer

ChatGPT developers have always stressed that the AI software is not meant for medical advice or treatment. It shouldn’t be treated as a substitute for professional help (Image: Pexels)

Using ChatGPT to seek medical advice may not be unusual, but Warren Tierney, a 37-year-old father and former psychologist from Ireland, took it a little too far by consulting the AI tool for months about his symptoms instead of undergoing a professional health diagnosis.

Tierney was assured by ChatGPT that his persistent sore throat and swallowing issues were ‘highly unlikely’ to be cancerous. However, when things didn’t get better, he went to the emergency department, where he was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer.

Warren Tierney’s esophageal adenocarcinoma

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As reported by The Mirror, what were perceived to be common issues such as a sore throat and swallowing difficulties turned out to be lethal in Warren Tierney’s case, as he relied on ChatGPT for months, describing his symptoms, which were declared ‘highly unlikely’ to be cancer. The AI tool even sent him reassuring messages that read: “I will walk with you through every result that comes. If this is cancer — we’ll face it. If it’s not — we’ll breathe again.”

While this gave Tierney a false sense of assurance, when his symptoms worsened, he finally visited the emergency department, where he was diagnosed with stage-four esophageal adenocarcinoma, a rare, aggressive throat cancer with a global five-year survival rate of just five to ten percent..

Warren told The Mirror: “I know that probably cost me a couple of months. And that's where we have to be super careful when using AI. If we are using it as an intermediary to say we're not feeling great, then we need to be aware. I'm a living example of it now and I'm in big trouble because I maybe relied on it too much. Or maybe I just felt that the reassurance it was giving me was more than likely right, when unfortunately it wasn't.”

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It has been stressed often enough by the developers of ChatGPT that the AI software is not meant for medical advice or treatment. It shouldn’t be treated as a substitute for professional help. In Tierney’s case, early medical intervention could have changed the trajectory of his life, and he is now spreading awareness about the repercussions of over-reliance on such tools.

Disclaimer: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don’t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis.