Reddit’s AI chatbot, called Answers, was caught recommending heroin and other banned substances for pain relief, according to a healthcare worker who flagged the issue on a moderator subreddit. After the problem was reported by users and 404Media, a tech news publication, Reddit reduced the feature’s visibility under sensitive health discussions, highlighting ongoing concerns about AI chatbots providing dangerous medical advice.
What you should know: Reddit Answers pulls information from user-generated content across the platform and works similarly to ChatGPT or Gemini, but with a focus on Reddit’s own discussions.
- A healthcare worker discovered the chatbot suggesting a post that claimed “Heroin, ironically, has saved my life in those instances” when asked about chronic pain relief.
- In another query about pain management, the AI recommended kratom, a tree extract that’s illegal in multiple states and carries FDA warnings “because of the risk of serious adverse events, including liver toxicity, seizures, and substance use disorder.”
- The chatbot was appearing under health-related subreddits where moderators had no option to disable it.
Reddit’s response: The platform took action to limit the AI’s reach after the issues were brought to their attention.
- Reddit initially launched Answers in a separate tab from the homepage but had recently been testing integration within conversations.
- Following reports from users and media coverage, Reddit decided to stop the chatbot from appearing under sensitive discussions.
The bigger pattern: Reddit’s AI joins a growing list of chatbots that have provided questionable or dangerous advice in healthcare contexts.
- Google’s AI Overviews previously suggested using “non-toxic glue” on pizzas to keep cheese from sliding off.
- ChatGPT has also been documented providing problematic health recommendations.
- AI hallucination—when AI systems generate false or nonsensical information—remains a persistent challenge across all major chatbot platforms, particularly when dealing with medical or safety-related queries.
Why this matters: The incident underscores the risks of deploying AI systems that can access and recommend user-generated content without proper safeguards, especially in sensitive areas like healthcare where bad advice can have serious consequences.
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