This title is clickbait. The implication ("following ChatGPT advice caused an emergency requiring an ER visit") is nearly the opposite of the central claim made ("ChatGPT encouraged me to go to the ER, and it turned out to be a life-saving decision").
I can add to this.
About a month ago, a friend had abdominal pains but was reluctant to go to A&E (Emergency Room).
I had my suspicions, but checked them with ChatGPT. The LLM said it was highly likely to be appendicitis, and that he should seek urgent medical attention, and also not eat or drink (other than water) as they may need to operate quite soon.
I passed it on, he went to A&E, and it all played out that way.
I’ve since switched my subscription to Gemini for work related reasons, but it has also been very helpful in my Gastritis recovery as I try to avoid flareups from dietary choices.
A typical HN stance is waiting for this fad to go away, but it certainly does have uses for me (currently being briefed by Gemini on an unfamiliar DIY task).
> AI had carotid dissection in mind from the first message
This does not follow from the evidence presented, even if we disregard questions of what "mind" means in this context. It's entirely plausible that the possibility of carotid dissection only made sense to consider partway through the conversation.
It's late night in North America; you said this less than an hour after the post went up; and plenty of posts get little traction on HN (including submissions of links that later become very popular on a separate submission or from the curated "second chance" queue).
[+] [-] mwetzler|6 months ago|reply
[+] [-] satisfice|6 months ago|reply
[+] [-] zahlman|6 months ago|reply
[+] [-] wiseowise|6 months ago|reply
When I read the title I thought about positive case [ChatGPT saved my life], not the negative one.
[+] [-] hn_throw2025|6 months ago|reply
I had my suspicions, but checked them with ChatGPT. The LLM said it was highly likely to be appendicitis, and that he should seek urgent medical attention, and also not eat or drink (other than water) as they may need to operate quite soon.
I passed it on, he went to A&E, and it all played out that way.
I’ve since switched my subscription to Gemini for work related reasons, but it has also been very helpful in my Gastritis recovery as I try to avoid flareups from dietary choices.
A typical HN stance is waiting for this fad to go away, but it certainly does have uses for me (currently being briefed by Gemini on an unfamiliar DIY task).
[+] [-] unknown|6 months ago|reply
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[+] [-] boopity2025|6 months ago|reply
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[+] [-] zahlman|6 months ago|reply
This does not follow from the evidence presented, even if we disregard questions of what "mind" means in this context. It's entirely plausible that the possibility of carotid dissection only made sense to consider partway through the conversation.
[+] [-] anovikov|6 months ago|reply
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[+] [-] zahlman|6 months ago|reply