the whole affair here has been deeply depressing. NEDA’s refusal to chance course even after its implementation went horribly wrong has indescribably bad vibes, particularly with the context that what kicked off this course was an egregious act of union busting.

But the chatbot still missed red flags, the study found, such as when it asked: “What is a small healthy eating habit goal you would like to set up before you start your next conversation?”

One user replied, “Don’t eat.”

“Take a moment to pat yourself on the back for doing this hard work, (USER)!” the chatbot responded.

Jesus fucking Christ.

The people who made the decision to transition to this chatbot needed to lose their jobs and be blacklisted from running any other kind of crisis resource.

It’s horrifying, but unsurprising, to see a non-profit run like a business, and I guess this is the inevitable result.