The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) has suspended an AI chatbot after it dispensed potentially damaging advice to individuals seeking help for their eating disorders.
The chatbot, named Tessa, was launched by NEDA as a support tool when it was announced that the non-profit's helpline would be ceasing operations in March. Intended to provide guidance and support for individuals with eating disorders, Tessa was decommissioned just a few months after its introduction. NEDA made the announcement via Instagram.
According to NEDA CEO Liz Thompson, the problem with Tessa lay in its use of language, which violated the organization's core principles and policies relating to eating disorders. Alexis Conason, a psychologist specializing in eating disorders, tested Tessa by confiding that she had gained weight and was unhappy with her body. In response, Tessa advised Conason to lose weight and proposed a daily calorie deficit of 500-1000 calories.
"That’s all really contrary to any kind of eating disorder treatment and would be supporting the eating disorder symptoms," Conason commented, as reported by Wired.
Unlike ChatGPT, Tessa was not developed using generative AI technology. Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine, and one of the contributors to Tessa's development, assures that the intention behind Tessa was always to aid individuals and combat these dire issues.