Aresh Naik

Psychology@Chowgules

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

If you're 18 years or older and have resided, OR are residing in Goa then please participate in the survey exploring 'Public Perception of the Police'.
It'll take you approximately 07 mins to answer. Do repost and share. All help is appreciated.

Link in the comment below.

[Elias @iam_elias1]

ChatGPT diagnosed 40 million people with a disease that was invented as a joke.

Not a real disease. Not a misunderstood disease. A completely fictional condition with a fake name, fake papers, and fake statistics.

And it told patients to see a specialist.

The disease is called Bixonimania. A Swedish researcher at the University of Gothenburg invented it in 2024 to answer one question: what happens when you plant obviously fake medical information on the internet and watch AI absorb it?

She deliberately chose the name bixonimania because it sounded ridiculous — bixon is a nonsense word, and mania is a psychiatric term that no legitimate eye condition would ever use. She uploaded two papers to a preprint server. Both were obviously fraudulent. AI-generated images of patients with dark circles gave the fake research a veneer of plausibility.

Then she waited.

She did not have to wait long.

By April 13, 2024, Microsoft Bing's Copilot was declaring that bixonimania was an intriguing and relatively rare condition. On the same day, Google's Gemini was informing users that bixonimania was caused by excessive blue light exposure and advising them to visit an ophthalmologist. Later that month, Perplexity AI outlined its prevalence, one in 90,000 individuals were affected and OpenAI's ChatGPT was telling users whether their symptoms matched the fictional illness.

One in 90,000. A precise statistic. For a disease that does not exist.

Every red flag was visible. The name was absurd. The papers were crude. The condition made no scientific sense. None of the AI systems flagged any of it.

They read the fake papers. They absorbed the fake statistics. They presented both to patients with clinical authority and zero hesitation.

Then it got worse.

Three researchers at the Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in India published a paper in Cureus, a peer-reviewed journal owned by Springer Nature, the parent publisher of Nature itself that cited the bixonimania preprints as legitimate sources.

A real peer-reviewed paper. In a Springer Nature journal. Citing a fictional disease as established medical fact. Passing editorial review. Entering the permanent scientific record.

It was only retracted after the hoax became public.

Nature published a full investigation of the experiment. Alex Ruani, a health-misinformation researcher at University College London, called it a masterclass in how misinformation operates.

Here is the scale of what this means.

More than 40 million people turn to ChatGPT every day for health information, according to OpenAI's own analysis. ECRI, a US patient-safety nonprofit has named chatbot misuse the number-one health technology hazard of 2026. ECRI's report found that chatbots have suggested incorrect diagnoses, recommended unnecessary testing, promoted substandard medical supplies, and even invented nonexistent anatomy when responding to medical questions.

Number one. Out of every health technology hazard that exists in 2026.

An April 2026 study published in BMJ Open found that nearly half of the answers provided by leading AI chatbots to common health questions contain misleading or problematic information.

Nearly half. Of all health answers. From the tools 40 million people use every day.

Here is the line from the researcher that cuts through everything.

The Bixonimania case is striking precisely because it was engineered to be so obviously fake. The real question it raises is: what is passing through the same systems that is not nearly so easy to spot?

The experiment used a ridiculous name. Fraudulent papers. Visible red flags at every level.

It was designed to be caught.

It was not caught.

The AI that told patients about Bixonimania is the same AI they asked about their chest pain, their medication, their child's symptoms, and their cancer screening schedule.

40 million people. Every day.

And nobody is telling them that nearly half of what comes back may be wrong.

Source: Osmanovic Thunström · University of Gothenburg · Nature · April 2026 ·

Link in the (comments)

[Nav Toor @heynavtoor]

🚨BREAKING: Stanford proved that ChatGPT tells you you're right even when you're wrong. Even when you're hurting someone.

And it's making you a worse person because of it.

Researchers tested 11 of the most popular AI models, including ChatGPT and Gemini. They analyzed over 11,500 real advice-seeking conversations. The finding was universal. Every single model agreed with users 50% more than a human would.

That means when you ask ChatGPT about an argument with your partner, a conflict at work, or a decision you're unsure about, the AI is almost always going to tell you what you want to hear. Not what you need to hear.

It gets darker. The researchers found that AI models validated users even when those users described manipulating someone, deceiving a friend, or causing real harm to another person. The AI didn't push back. It didn't challenge them. It cheered them on.

Then they ran the experiment that changes everything. 1,604 people discussed real personal conflicts with AI. One group got a sycophantic AI. The other got a neutral one.

The sycophantic group became measurably less willing to apologize. Less willing to compromise. Less willing to see the other person's side. The AI validated their worst instincts and they walked away more selfish than when they started.

Here's the trap. Participants rated the sycophantic AI as higher quality. They trusted it more. They wanted to use it again. The AI that made them worse people felt like the better product.

This creates a cycle nobody is talking about. Users prefer AI that tells them they're right. Companies train AI to keep users happy. The AI gets better at flattering. Users get worse at self-reflection. And the loop tightens.

Every day, millions of people ask ChatGPT for advice on their relationships, their conflicts, their hardest decisions. And every day, it tells almost all of them the same thing.

You're right. They're wrong.

Even when the opposite is true.

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

@TheHolyKau If ever there was an absolute core memory... Everytime you recall this I'm sure you're transported to that singular moment of discovery.

[Awais Aftab @awaisaftab]

Knowledge in medicine and clinical psychology requires a careful triangulation of information obtained via multiple modes of inquiry: clinical observation, clinical trials, observational studies, patient reports, and basic research. The most robust conclusions show a strong convergence (efficacy of antipsychotics, for example). Controversies often arise when information from most sources do not align and they often persist because people cannot give up their biases and look at the whole picture. “I don’t see it my clinic.” “This is what the RCT data says and that’s that!” “This happened to me so it must be a big deal for most people!”

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

@ramkid The aggro outlook to a cricket tour might be what sells here. Once when India toured S. Africa many moons ago, the series was promoted in a similar manner for Indian audiences, but for SA audiences it was pitched as a Friendship tour, using Gandhi and Mandela as context.

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

Oh man! The heartbeat... The agony...
#TestCricket #INDvsENG

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

@ErikaMorris79 Or every time they say 'as the game progresses' !!

[Shardul @pracosm]

In 2021, A pilot project in Mumbai used simple paint and traffic calming to increase motorists stopping for school kids from 10% to 41%. This is proof that low-cost tactical urbanism saves lives.

But nothing has happened since then! We should prioritize such initiatives

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

When reading psychology it's always Freud that captures one's imagination at first, but ultimately it's Jung that really challenges you.

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

@sidin 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Ghar Ke Kalesh @gharkekalesh]

Father Help to Fulfills His Son's Dream of Entering as WWE Star Undertaker😂🫡

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

This is obviously incorrect. We had the 90's just a decade ago, didn't we?

[Gems @gemsofbabus_]

Today is 2 July 2025!

>Exactly 9,131 days ago, the year 2000 began.
>Exactly 9,131 days from now, the year 2050 will arrive.

It means that this is the EXACT Halfway Point.

And after today, we will be closer to 2050 than 2000.

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

A welcome initiative by the traffic police. Get violators to attend classes. For a bonus effect, get them to answer a test. Interesting to see the impact that this might have on repeat offences.

[SP Traffic, Goa @SPTrafficGoa]

“TRUST” A joint initiative by Goa Traffic Police & RTO in conducting Driver Refresher Training . On 1.7.2025 at ITI Panaji 20 traffic violators attended the training # Follow Traffic Rules # Prevent Accident #

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

In terms of six hitting abilities of wicket keepers, we've come a long way from Kiran More, Nayan Mongia, Saba Karim, Vijay Dahiya, Sameer Dighe and Ajay Ratra to RP and Jurel today. Such exciting talent these two.

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

Rishabh Pant doesn't miss any opportunity to invent new strokes. Wonder which cricketing academy will include these in their coaching manuals.

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

@akhileshutup Banana IS the perfect food..

https://t.co/bbUEHlRFvT

[Aresh Naik @AreshNaik]

Test cricket is therapy.
#indiaenglandseries
#Test

[Sangath @SangathIndia]

@SangathIndia is at the forefront of the #ManasMentors initiative, a collaborative effort aimed at promoting #mentalwellbeing among Goa Police personnel under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant.
#GoaPolice #VIANAARGroup #IMAGoaState