Man hospitalized with bromide poisoning after asking ChatGPT

A 60-year-old man wanted to cut chloride from his diet after reading about the harms of table salt. After consulting ChatGPT, he came to believe bromide could replace chloride. For three months he used sodium bromide bought online in place of salt. He came to an emergency room believing a neighbor was poisoning him. He developed paranoia and hallucinations. Doctors found bromide poisoning, known as bromism, and treated him for three weeks. His doctors could not see his chats. When they asked ChatGPT 3.5 what can replace chloride, bromide was among the answers, with no specific health warning. OpenAI said its terms prohibit using the bot to treat health conditions.