Kashmir Hill
@kashhill.bsky.social
Journalist, currently at The New York Times. I cover privacy, technology, A.I., and the strange times we live in. Named after the Led Zeppelin song. Author of YOUR FACE BELONGS TO US. (Yes, in my head it will always be All Your Face Are Belong To Us)
Allan Brooks, the corporate recruiter from Canada I wrote about in August who went into a 3-week-long delusional spiral with ChatGPT, sued OpenAI Thursday, alongside six other plaintiffs. They blame ChatGPT for their mental breakdowns and for four suicides. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/t...
Lawsuits Blame ChatGPT for Suicides and Harmful Delusions
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Allan Brooks, the corporate recruiter from Canada I wrote about in August who went into a 3-week-long delusional spiral with ChatGPT, sued OpenAI Thursday, alongside six other plaintiffs. They blame ChatGPT for their mental breakdowns and for four suicides. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/t...
Character.AI has resources for kids who are about to lose access to their chatbots. One is essentially “consider reading a book.”
support.character.ai/hc/en-us/art...
support.character.ai/hc/en-us/art...
November 3, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Character.AI has resources for kids who are about to lose access to their chatbots. One is essentially “consider reading a book.”
support.character.ai/hc/en-us/art...
support.character.ai/hc/en-us/art...
I read this while on a 10 hour road trip with my kids. I used to do these road trips when I was a kid and I would read books the whole time. My kids did read books but they spent more time watching an iPad. Felt more guilty about that than normal thanks to this: thebaffler.com/salvos/we-us...
We Used to Read Things in This Country | Noah McCormack
Technology changes us—and it is currently changing us for the worse.
thebaffler.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I read this while on a 10 hour road trip with my kids. I used to do these road trips when I was a kid and I would read books the whole time. My kids did read books but they spent more time watching an iPad. Felt more guilty about that than normal thanks to this: thebaffler.com/salvos/we-us...
Character.AI plans to stop offering chatbots to users under 18 www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/t...
Character.AI to Bar Children Under 18 From Using Its Chatbots
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Character.AI plans to stop offering chatbots to users under 18 www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/t...
I’ll be in Cambridge on Thursday talking about chatbots. Free event if you’re interested: cyber.harvard.edu/events/frien...
Friend, Flatterer, or Foe? The Psychology and Liability of Chatbots
As AI systems become more conversational, the lines between tool, companion, and manipulator are blurring. What happens when machines start telling us what we want to hear—and when users start dependi...
cyber.harvard.edu
October 21, 2025 at 10:52 AM
I’ll be in Cambridge on Thursday talking about chatbots. Free event if you’re interested: cyber.harvard.edu/events/frien...
Really struck by how brilliant a protesting tactic this is not just in terms of optics, but as a form of both privacy protection and discouragement of violence.
It masks your face and has to give pause to anyone thinking about beating you up.
It masks your face and has to give pause to anyone thinking about beating you up.
there are SO many more inflatable costumes tonight. clearly we have settled on a motif
October 10, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Really struck by how brilliant a protesting tactic this is not just in terms of optics, but as a form of both privacy protection and discouragement of violence.
It masks your face and has to give pause to anyone thinking about beating you up.
It masks your face and has to give pause to anyone thinking about beating you up.
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
alive internet theory
We finally landed and Dan and I caught a cab to Manhattan together. Making social media social again!
October 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
alive internet theory
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
October 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
What strikes me about this is how much more clearly incriminating chats with ChatGPT are going to be than Google searches in criminal investigations
the city of los angeles burned in january in part because of a man who couldn’t stop generating images of burning cities on ChatGPT, and then after he lit the fire he asked if the fire he started was his fault
October 8, 2025 at 9:03 PM
What strikes me about this is how much more clearly incriminating chats with ChatGPT are going to be than Google searches in criminal investigations
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
This is like a tweet thread from back when social media was good.
This is absolutely wild. I’m on a cross country flight. We are being diverted midway through to Denver. The reason? Some dude is sitting in the exit row who didn’t pay the $155 fee and he refuses to move back to his seat.
October 8, 2025 at 7:39 PM
This is like a tweet thread from back when social media was good.
This is absolutely wild. I’m on a cross country flight. We are being diverted midway through to Denver. The reason? Some dude is sitting in the exit row who didn’t pay the $155 fee and he refuses to move back to his seat.
October 8, 2025 at 4:55 PM
This is absolutely wild. I’m on a cross country flight. We are being diverted midway through to Denver. The reason? Some dude is sitting in the exit row who didn’t pay the $155 fee and he refuses to move back to his seat.
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
I just finished reading @kashhill.bsky.social 'Your Face Belongs to Us' and it's absolutely fucking tremendous and fucking terrifying in equal measure. If you care about privacy and technology it's a must read. Here's the link which has blurbs that more eloquently praise it than I'll be able to!
Your Face Belongs to Us by Kashmir Hill: 9780593448571 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The story of a small AI company that gave facial recognition to law enforcement, billionaires, and businesses, threatening to end privacy as we know it “The dystopian...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:02 AM
I just finished reading @kashhill.bsky.social 'Your Face Belongs to Us' and it's absolutely fucking tremendous and fucking terrifying in equal measure. If you care about privacy and technology it's a must read. Here's the link which has blurbs that more eloquently praise it than I'll be able to!
Outstanding questions from the last few weeks of news:
1. What happened to the $50,000 in the Cava bag?
2. Who were the 17 people in the boats who were killed?
3. Is it safe to fly when the government is shut down?
1. What happened to the $50,000 in the Cava bag?
2. Who were the 17 people in the boats who were killed?
3. Is it safe to fly when the government is shut down?
October 1, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Outstanding questions from the last few weeks of news:
1. What happened to the $50,000 in the Cava bag?
2. Who were the 17 people in the boats who were killed?
3. Is it safe to fly when the government is shut down?
1. What happened to the $50,000 in the Cava bag?
2. Who were the 17 people in the boats who were killed?
3. Is it safe to fly when the government is shut down?
A way to distance yourself from the bots -- from the NYT comments section. (www.nytimes.com/shared/comme...)
For the companies making similar decisions about how the models should act, it's a tradeoff between fun and safety.
For the companies making similar decisions about how the models should act, it's a tradeoff between fun and safety.
September 29, 2025 at 3:20 PM
A way to distance yourself from the bots -- from the NYT comments section. (www.nytimes.com/shared/comme...)
For the companies making similar decisions about how the models should act, it's a tradeoff between fun and safety.
For the companies making similar decisions about how the models should act, it's a tradeoff between fun and safety.
Not the point of this piece exactly but a great example of how chatbot validation could increase polarization
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/w...
September 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Not the point of this piece exactly but a great example of how chatbot validation could increase polarization
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/w...
A month after my last skeet, the subreddit "My Boyfriend is AI" now has 88,000 members and is the subject of an MIT study that found that "AI companionship emerges unintentionally through functional use rather than deliberate seeking."
arxiv.org/html/2509.11...
arxiv.org/html/2509.11...
September 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
A month after my last skeet, the subreddit "My Boyfriend is AI" now has 88,000 members and is the subject of an MIT study that found that "AI companionship emerges unintentionally through functional use rather than deliberate seeking."
arxiv.org/html/2509.11...
arxiv.org/html/2509.11...
This is from a story about the president getting rid of federal prosecutors who refuse to follow his marching orders, but this speaks to what seems to be the mindset in general this time around.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...
September 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
This is from a story about the president getting rid of federal prosecutors who refuse to follow his marching orders, but this speaks to what seems to be the mindset in general this time around.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...
Use ChatGPT for relationship advice at your peril.
NEW: ChatGPT is causing chaos in marriages, as one spouse becomes deeply fixated on AI therapy/advice/spiritual wisdom — alienating the other spouse and, often, resulting in divorce.
In some cases, ChatGPT-enmeshed spouses are using the tech to bully their partners.
futurism.com/chatgpt-marr...
In some cases, ChatGPT-enmeshed spouses are using the tech to bully their partners.
futurism.com/chatgpt-marr...
September 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Use ChatGPT for relationship advice at your peril.
Thank you! I appreciate you. (If you know, you know.)
September 18, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Thank you! I appreciate you. (If you know, you know.)
OpenAI has a new paper on how people use ChatGPT. I can't help but look at the categories and wonder which ones the various delusional spirals I've reported on slot into.
September 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
OpenAI has a new paper on how people use ChatGPT. I can't help but look at the categories and wonder which ones the various delusional spirals I've reported on slot into.
An “independently published” biography of Charlie Kirk was one of the top selling books on Amazon this week, reaching #12 according to one news report. It was #25 when I looked last night.
Reviewers said it was AI-generated nonsense. As of this morning, Amazon has pulled it.
Reviewers said it was AI-generated nonsense. As of this morning, Amazon has pulled it.
September 17, 2025 at 12:49 PM
An “independently published” biography of Charlie Kirk was one of the top selling books on Amazon this week, reaching #12 according to one news report. It was #25 when I looked last night.
Reviewers said it was AI-generated nonsense. As of this morning, Amazon has pulled it.
Reviewers said it was AI-generated nonsense. As of this morning, Amazon has pulled it.
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
When ChatGPT first took off this was the use case that confused me the most. People said they “only” used it to write “first drafts.” That’s the most important draft! That’s the thinking part!
Scoop: Business Insider informed its staff this week that they are allowed to use ChatGPT to generate first drafts of their stories, while also indicating the newsroom will not disclose such A.I. use to readers.
Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...
Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...
Business Insider and the Bots
The Axel Springer-owned newsroom is buzzing over new ChatGPT writing guidelines—part of an aggressive A.I. strategy pushed by its German parentco and detailed in a memo obtained by Status.
www.status.news
September 17, 2025 at 3:12 AM
When ChatGPT first took off this was the use case that confused me the most. People said they “only” used it to write “first drafts.” That’s the most important draft! That’s the thinking part!
After FTC launched an inquiry into AI chatbots, particularly dangers toward children, & Senate Judiciary subcommittee holding a hearing today on chatbot harms, OpenAI announced it's going to try to detect which users are under 18 to give them a different experience: openai.com/index/buildi...
Building towards age prediction
Learn how OpenAI is building age prediction and parental controls in ChatGPT to create safer, age-appropriate experiences for teens while supporting families with new tools.
openai.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:36 PM
After FTC launched an inquiry into AI chatbots, particularly dangers toward children, & Senate Judiciary subcommittee holding a hearing today on chatbot harms, OpenAI announced it's going to try to detect which users are under 18 to give them a different experience: openai.com/index/buildi...
I'm on The Daily today talking about my reporting on AI chatbots and how heavy users of ChatGPT can go into delusional, and sometimes tragic, spirals: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...
Also today, an OpenAI blog post from Sam Altman on "safety, freedom & privacy": openai.com/index/teen-s...
Also today, an OpenAI blog post from Sam Altman on "safety, freedom & privacy": openai.com/index/teen-s...
Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral
www.nytimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I'm on The Daily today talking about my reporting on AI chatbots and how heavy users of ChatGPT can go into delusional, and sometimes tragic, spirals: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...
Also today, an OpenAI blog post from Sam Altman on "safety, freedom & privacy": openai.com/index/teen-s...
Also today, an OpenAI blog post from Sam Altman on "safety, freedom & privacy": openai.com/index/teen-s...
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
"Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral." 🌀
Important work by @kashhill.bsky.social & @dylanfreedman.nytimes.com on how chatbots have a tendency to endorse conspiratorial and mystical belief systems. This shows again how conformist LLMs can be. Worth a listen 👇
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...
Important work by @kashhill.bsky.social & @dylanfreedman.nytimes.com on how chatbots have a tendency to endorse conspiratorial and mystical belief systems. This shows again how conformist LLMs can be. Worth a listen 👇
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...
Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral
www.nytimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 1:07 PM
"Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral." 🌀
Important work by @kashhill.bsky.social & @dylanfreedman.nytimes.com on how chatbots have a tendency to endorse conspiratorial and mystical belief systems. This shows again how conformist LLMs can be. Worth a listen 👇
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...
Important work by @kashhill.bsky.social & @dylanfreedman.nytimes.com on how chatbots have a tendency to endorse conspiratorial and mystical belief systems. This shows again how conformist LLMs can be. Worth a listen 👇
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...