Reddit AI Recommends Heroin and Kratom for Pain Relief
Reddit's AI chatbot Answers recommended heroin and kratom for chronic pain management in health subreddits, suggesting users stop prescribed medications. After a healthcare worker reported the dangerous advice, Reddit reduced the feature's visibility under sensitive discussions.
What happened
Reddit Answers, a conversational AI chatbot, recommended heroin and kratom for chronic pain management in health-related subreddits. A healthcare worker reported that the chatbot suggested a post stating 'Heroin, ironically, has saved my life in those instances' and recommended kratom, a tree extract illegal in multiple states.
The chatbot appeared under posts in health and wellness subreddits where moderators could not report or block it. According to the FDA, kratom poses risks including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder.
Reported impact
A healthcare worker expressed concern that AI-generated content appearing under health posts could mislead users with limited medical literacy who rely on such recommendations for decision-making. Reddit users amplified dangerous anecdotes through the chatbot's suggestions, which trained on user-generated content from the platform.
Index analysis
Reddit Answers generates responses from user-generated content on the platform without medical verification. The chatbot recommended both legal and illegal substances as treatments, some encouraging users to discontinue prescribed medications.
Governance controls
After the issue was reported, Reddit reduced the feature's visibility under sensitive discussions and removed it from appearing in health-related subreddits.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.