OpenAI is set to change the way ChatGPT can be used as it announced that ChatGPT will no longer provide medical, legal, or financial advice.
“As of October 29, ChatGPT stopped providing specific guidance on treatment, legal issues and money. The bot is now officially an “educational tool," not a consultant — and the new terms spell that out clearly," according to a report by NEXTA, as per News18.
Under the new rules, ChatGPT will be barred from suggesting medication names or dosages, drafting lawsuit templates, offering legal strategies, or giving investment advice such as buy/sell recommendations.
Instead, the chatbot is now limited to explaining general principles, outlining basic mechanisms, and advising users to consult professionals — such as doctors, lawyers, or financial advisors — for personalized guidance.
ChatGPT will now only be allowed to “explain principles, outline general mechanisms and tell you to talk to a doctor, lawyer or financial professional", as per the NEXTA report.
The change follows incidents where users reportedly suffered harm after relying on ChatGPT’s advice.
In one such case from August, a 60-year-old man was hospitalized for three weeks after substituting table salt with sodium bromide based on information he said he received from ChatGPT. According to a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the man — who had no prior psychiatric issues — began experiencing paranoia and hallucinations within 24 hours of admission and was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold.
He later told doctors he had conducted a “personal experiment” to remove table salt from his diet after consulting ChatGPT about its possible health risks.
Another case involved 37-year-old Warren Tierney from Killarney, County Kerry, who used ChatGPT after experiencing difficulty swallowing. The AI chatbot reportedly reassured him that cancer was “highly unlikely". Convinced by the response, Tierney delayed visiting a doctor, only to later be diagnosed with stage-four adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus.
“I think it ended up being a real problem because ChatGPT probably delayed me getting serious attention,” Tierney told Mirror. “It sounded convincing and had all these good ideas, but ultimately I take full responsibility for what happened.”
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