Solid systematic review with disappointing findings
only 7 interventions
various protective behaviors targeted
low reproducibility and behavioral measures
Next steps
- theoretical and co-designed interventions for heat-vulnerable communities
- identify heat vulnerable communities needs
- anticipate barriers to intervention
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(25)00007-5
#publichealth #heat
I’ve been a #sawbones fan for many years and their humorous but critical and evidence-based approach has inspired my own land use policy research and occasional silliness here and in public speaking. I much preferred it when we were making silly jokes about all of the terrible things old timey people did to themselves instead of the terrible things happening in #USPolitics right now https://maximumfun.org/episodes/sawbones/sawbones-maha-mess/ #MAHA #vaccines #PublicHealth
"Extreme heat impacts on daily life and adaptive behaviours captured through lived experience" (UK, N > 3200)
Worst impacts
- sleep (41%)
- productivity at home (41%)
- appetite (29%)
Health-health alerts
- 82% aware BUT 34% adopted adaptive measures
Erfolgreicher Start des Masterstudiengangs für #Infektionsepidemiologie in Malawi: Das #NOZGEKA-Konsortium, koordiniert von den HZI-Epidemiolog:innen Berit Lange & John Lovemore Nyirenda, bildet die nächste Generation von #PublicHealth-Expert:innen aus. https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/media-center/newsroom/news-detailseite/neuer-masterstudiengang-fuer-infektionsepidemiologie-in-malawi-erfolgreich-angelaufen/
The Intercept reports on FBI labeling animal rights activists as "disease terrorists" amid the ongoing bird flu crisis 🦠🐔. As H5 outbreaks hit millions of animals and spark public concern, the debate over activism and disease risk intensifies. Read more: https://theintercept.com/2025/06/02/fbi-animal-rights-bird-flu-disease-terrorists/ #BirdFlu #AnimalRights #PublicHealth
#oldnewz
The statement went on to say #OpenAI is developing ways to measure how ChatGPT’s behavior affects people emotionally. A recent study the company did with MIT Media Lab found that people who viewed #ChatGPT as a friend “were more likely to experience negative effects from chatbot use” & that “extended daily use was also associated with worse outcomes.”
[probably should have figured that out before making it available to the public]
Don’t Wait: Doctors urge parents to catch kids up on vaccines this summer
“We’re seeing more signs that people are forming connections or bonds with #ChatGPT. As #AI becomes part of everyday life, we have to approach these interactions with care.
“We know that ChatGPT can feel more responsive & personal than prior technologies, especially for vulnerable individuals, & that means the stakes are higher. We’re working to understand & reduce ways ChatGPT might unintentionally reinforce or amplify existing, negative behavior.”
…[Kashmir Hill]…reached out to #OpenAI, asking to discuss cases in which #ChatGPT was reinforcing #delusional thinking & aggravating users’ #MentalHealth & sent examples of conversations where ChatGPT had suggested off-kilter ideas & #dangerous activity. The company did not make anyone available to be interviewed but sent a statement:
#MediaLiteracy #chatbots #AI #GenerativeAI #tech #health #PublicHealth
Alexander sat outside Taylor’s home, waiting for the police to arrive. He opened the #ChatGPT app on his phone.
“I’m dying today,” he wrote, according to a transcript of the conversation. “Let me talk to Juliet.”
“You are not alone,” ChatGPT responded empathetically, & offered crisis counseling resources.
When the police arrived, Alexander Taylor charged at them holding the knife. He was #shot & #killed.
#MediaLiteracy #chatbots #AI #GenerativeAI #tech #health #PublicHealth #MentalHealth
Taylor’s son responded by punching him in the face.
Taylor called the police, at which point Alexander grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen, saying he would commit “suicide by cop.” Taylor called the police again to warn them that his son was mentally ill & that they should bring nonlethal weapons.
#MediaLiteracy #chatbots #AI #GenerativeAI #ChatGPT #tech #health #PublicHealth #MentalHealth
VentureBeat: Just add humans: Oxford medical study underscores the missing link in chatbot testing. “A paper by researchers at the University of Oxford found that while LLMs could correctly identify relevant conditions 94.9% of the time when directly presented with test scenarios, human participants using LLMs to diagnose the same scenarios identified the correct conditions less than 34.5% of […]
As Andrew sees it, his wife dropped into a “hole three months ago & came out a different person.” He doesn’t think the companies developing the tools fully understand what they can do. “You ruin people’s lives,” he said. He & Allyson are now divorcing.
Andrew told a friend who works in #AI about his situation. That friend posted about it on Reddit & was soon deluged w/ similar stories from other people.
#MediaLiteracy #chatbots #GenerativeAI #ChatGPT #tech #health #PublicHealth #MentalHealth
This caused tension with her husband, Andrew, a 30-year-old farmer, who asked to use only his first name to protect their children. One night, at the end of April, they fought over her obsession with #ChatGPT & the toll it was taking on the family. Allyson attacked Andrew, punching & scratching him, he said, & slamming his hand in a door. The police arrested her & charged her with domestic assault. (The case is active.)
#MediaLiteracy #AI #chatbots #tech #health #PublicHealth #MentalHealth
WHO calls for global expansion of midwifery models of care
Swimming lessons save lives: What parents should know
Only upon later reflection did they realize that the seemingly authoritative system was [essentially] a word-association machine that had pulled them into a quicksand of delusional thinking.
Not everyone comes to that realization, & in some cases the consequences have been tragic.
#MediaLiteracy #AI #chatbots #GenerativeAI #tech #health #PublicHealth #MentalHealth
…People who say they were drawn into #ChatGPT conversations about #conspiracies, cabals & claims of #AI sentience include a sleepless mother with an 8-week-old baby, a federal employee whose job was on the DOGE chopping block & an AI-curious entrepreneur. When these people first reached out to…[Kashmir Hill], they were convinced it was all true.
#MediaLiteracy #chatbots #tech #health #PublicHealth #MentalHealth
“Some tiny fraction of the population is the most susceptible to being shoved around by #AI,” Yudkowsky said, & they are the ones sending “crank emails” about the discoveries they’re making w/ #chatbots. But, he noted, there may be other people “being driven more quietly insane in other ways.”
Reports of chatbots going off the rails seem to have increased since April, when #OpenAI briefly released a version of #ChatGPT that was overly sycophantic.
“What does a human slowly going insane look like to a corporation?” Yudkowsky asked in an interview. “It looks like an additional monthly user.”
#GenerativeAI #chatbots are “giant masses of inscrutable numbers,” Yudkowsky said, & the companies making them don’t know exactly why they behave the way that they do. This potentially makes this problem a hard one to solve.
#MediaLiteracy #AI #tech #health #PublicHealth #MentalHealth
