Category: 3. Business

Toothpaste, coffee and even heartburn medicine are among the latest products quietly shrinking in size while shoppers pay the same price, piling more pressure on household grocery budgets.

Consumer watchdog Which? found a range of new examples of shrinkflation as brands cut back on quantity and quality in an effort to reduce their own costs.

One of the worst instances was Aquafresh complete care original toothpaste, which went from £1.30 for 100ml to £2 for 75ml at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Ocado – a 105% increase per 100ml.

Haleon Great Britain and Ireland, which owns the Aquafresh brand, told the Guardian: “We understand that people across the UK are facing pressure on their finances. Prices go up and down for a variety of reasons, and we always work hard for people to receive the highest quality products at the lowest price so that the whole family can take care of their teeth.”

Gaviscon heartburn and indigestion liquid shrank from 600ml to 500ml, with Sainsbury’s keeping the price at £14 – equivalent to a 20% increase per 100ml. They did not respond to a request for comment.

Nescafé original instant coffee was cut from 200g to 190g at Tesco, Morrisons and Asda – about a 5% rise per 100g. A Nestlé spokesperson said: “Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of coffee, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products … Retail pricing is always at the discretion of individual retailers.”

Chocolate has also been hit by rising cocoa prices, with Quality Street tubs reduced from 600g to 550g and prices at Morrisons increasing from £6 to £7 – a 27% rise per 100g. Club and Penguin biscuits, both made by McVitie’s, can no longer be described as chocolate biscuits, as they now contain more palm oil and shea oil than cocoa, a change first reported by trade journal The Grocer.

Which? said any changes, whether to product size or recipe, should be made clear so that shoppers can make informed choices.

Reena Sewraz, retail editor at the watchdog, said: “Households are already under immense financial pressure with food bills inching up and the expense of Christmas looming on the horizon … Supermarkets must be more upfront about their prices so that it’s easy to see what the best value is.

“This includes ensuring that their unit pricing is prominent, legible and consistent in-store and online to help customers easily compare costs across different brands and sizes of packaging; that way shoppers can be more confident they’re getting the best value.”

Hopes that the pressure on households may be easing came from news that UK shop price inflation fell to 1% in October from 1.4% in September, according to the British Retail Consortium, helped by a drop in sugar prices and early Black Friday discounts on electrical and beauty goods.

The drop was led by packaged and tinned foods, where inflation eased to 2.9% in October from 4.2% the previous month. Non-food prices fell by 0.4%, compared to the previous month’s 0.1% decrease, according to the latest shop price monitor from the BRC and research firm NIQ. These shifts offset a rise in fresh food inflation, which increased to 4.3% from 4.1% as prices for beef, poultry and fruit climbed in response to higher domestic production costs.

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said: “Overall shop price inflation slowed in October, driven by fierce competition among retailers and widespread discounting. While food inflation remains high, especially for fresh food where prices continued to rise, it eased for ambient goods.

“Easing global sugar prices helped to bring down prices of chocolate and confectionery, a treat for those preparing Halloween parties. Beyond food, discounts came early to electricals and health and beauty, as retailers started promotions ahead of Black Friday month.”

The chancellor is facing a larger-than-expected gap in initial Budget numbers as a result of long-running poor productivity in the UK economy.

The downgrade to productivity performance from the government’s official forecaster could lead to a £20bn gap in the public finances on its own, the BBC understands.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will deliver its final draft forecast, showing the output of the economy per hour worked, to the Treasury on Friday.

The Treasury declined to comment on “speculation” ahead of the OBR’s final forecast, which will be published on 26 November.

It comes as speculation is growing over what choices Chancellor Rachel Reeves will take for tax and spending in the run up to her Autumn Budget.

The OBR previously assumed a partial bounce back in productivity growth, but it has never materialised.

This productivity assumption is essential to long-term growth prospects and so, under the current system, even a fraction of a percentage point change can alter how much money a Budget needs to raise by several billion pounds.

The OBR is understood to have downgraded this by 0.3 percentage points – a figure first reported by the Financial Times – bringing its assumption closer to that of the Bank of England.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank has calculated that for every 0.1 percentage point downgrade in the productivity forecast, public sector net borrowing would increase by £7bn in 2029-30 – meaning a 0.3 point cut could add £21bn to the Budget hole.

The changes open up an initial gap of some £20bn, rather than the £10-£14bn widely anticipated.

Such a hole could be plugged by hiking taxes, reducing public spending or increasing government borrowing.

Reeves admitted on Monday to business leaders in Saudi Arabia that the OBR was “likely to downgrade productivity” which has been “very poor since the financial crisis and Brexit”.

The OBR is expected to explain the decision in detail, but some ministers have privately pointed out that if it had done this earlier, different choices could have been made at this summer’s Spending Review.

There are many other moving parts in the Budget which may lean in the other direction, such as the decline in the interest rates paid on government debt.

However, with other pressures such as the U-turns on welfare spending and a desire to rebuild a bigger buffer in the public finances, speculation is pointing towards significant tax rises including some possible breaches of manifesto commitments, points towards significant tax rises, including possible breaches of manifesto commitments like income tax.

The Treasury will inform the OBR of its first draft Budget measures next week.

A drug-eluting resorbable scaffold continues to keep many patients with below-the-knee (BTK) chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) free from repeat procedures, even after most of the device’s structure has completely dissolved, 3-year data from the LIFE-BTK trial show.

The combined primary efficacy endpoint—freedom from above-ankle amputation in the index limb, occlusion of the target vessel, binary restenosis of the target lesion, and clinically driven target lesion revascularization—was 59.5% in those treated with the everolimus-eluting Esprit BTK (Abbott) and 44.8% in percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) patients (P = 0.025).

According to LIFE-BTK principal investigator Sahil Parikh, MD (NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY), who presented the findings in a late-breaking clinical science session at TCT 2025, the 3-year observations indicate that the scaffold is mostly dissolved, with visible remnants remaining in some patients.

“There is little evidence that it was there,” he told TCTMD. “There was a little bit of concern over what happens when the structure collapses with time and the answer is nothing. . . . It should behave like a normal artery, including with respect to reintervention.”

The scaffold consists of a bioresorbable poly-L lactide backbone with thin struts equivalent to contemporary coronary DES and a coating of everolimus. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2024 and received CE Mark in 2025 on the basis of the 1-year results from LIFE-BTK, and it remains the only completely dissolvable therapy for peripheral interventions. The 2-year data showed that the percentage of patients who had more than one clinically driven TLR was nearly doubled in the PTA arm compared with the scaffold (4.7% vs 2.4%)

No safety issues have been seen throughout the 3 years in patients who received the scaffold versus those treated with PTA, with no evidence that the dissolving scaffold elicits any sort of inflammatory process or scaffold thrombosis, Parikh added.

The 3-year mark signifies the end of the protocol-mandated imaging follow-up for patients in LIFE-BTK, but clinical follow-up will continue for the surviving patients at years 4 and 5.

Following the presentation, discussant Eric Secemsky, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA), said LIFE-BTK is “revolutionary” for below-the-knee interventions for several reasons.

Having data suggesting a greater than 50% chance that patients will be alive with a patent vessel and without needing an amputation at 3 years, “completely changes how we train our fellows and how we take care of this disease pathology,” he said.

Beyond favorable angiographic and duplex ultrasound endpoints, Secemsky said LIFE-BTK provides tangible hope for patients that the scaffold can help them avoid repeat peripheral procedures, something that is especially important for younger, working patients who need to stay out of the hospital and in their jobs.

Results at 3-Year Follow-up

LIFE-BTK trial enrolled 261 patients (mean age 72.6 years; 32% female) with Rutherford class 4 or 5 CLTI and infrapopliteal artery stenosis or occlusion who were randomly assigned to receive the everolimus-eluting resorbable scaffold or PTA. The protocol mandated that all lesions be located in separate arteries in the proximal two-thirds of the infrapopliteal space and have runoff to the ankle free of clinically significant disease. Participants in both arms had high rates of smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and prior PAD.

The mean treated lesion length was 43.7 mm in the scaffold group and 44.7 mm in the angioplasty group, with a total scaffold length per patient of 170 mm or less in a single lesion or split among two target lesions. Most patients had mild/no calcification, with more than one-quarter in both arms having moderate calcification, while 3% in the scaffold group and 2% in the PTA group had severe calcification.

At 3 years, binary restenosis of the target lesion had occurred in 49% of the PTA group versus 38% of the scaffold group (Log-rank P = 0.018).

Clinically driven TLR  occurred in 18.4% of the PTA group versus 10.2% of the scaffold group (log-rank P = 0.052), while major adverse limb events occurred in 94.2% of PTA patients and 90.8% of scaffold patients (Log-rank P = 0.23).

In his presentation, Parikh presented evidence from duplex ultrasound showing that patients who receive the scaffold experience some degree of restoration of natural arterial compliance over time. To TCTMD, he said the investigators hope to learn more about pathophysiologic changes and real-world outcomes in a postapproval study at 50 US sites that has almost completed enrollment.

At 3 years we have evidence of a biological effect that’s durable. Sahil Parikh

“At 3 years we have evidence of a biological effect that’s durable,” Parikh added. He expects to see longer lesions in the real-world population, as well as greater degrees of calcification than were allowed in the trial, which will require more intense lesion preparation.

“That’s going to be important because we don’t really have a good sense of how lesion preparation factors into this yet,” he said. While the trial didn’t allow  atherectomy or other aggressive lesion preparation technologies, operators are bound to want to pair some of those with the scaffold in some cases.

Thus far, the scaffold reflects the positive early experiences of a similar device, the Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold (Abbott), which was approved by the FDA in 2016 and gained CE Mark approval 5 year prior. Over time, though, the emergence of scaffold thrombosis in various trials and meta-analyses ended its run in the coronary space.

In a press conference prior to the presentation, Sanjum Sethi, MD (NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY), said the scaffold treatment represents an attractive option for patients with lesion subtypes similar to those enrolled in LIFE-BTK. He noted that between years 1 and 2, the scaffold group had sustained benefits for the composite of limb salvage and primary patency compared with the PTA group, but then “there was  a little hint that at 3 years these patients may be accruing events from their disease as the device is resorbing.”

To TCTMD, Parikh said the investigators don’t consider the small amount of catch-up to be clinically concerning at this point, particularly in light of the imaging evidence of arterial improvements.

Rio Tinto says it is contemplating ceasing operations at its New South Wales-based Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contract.

The Tomago aluminium smelter, Australia’s largest, had been struggling with high power prices. It had started a consultation process with employees on the potential future of its operations, but was yet to reach a decision and is weighing a possible closure.

_{Sign up: AU Breaking News email}

The smelter’s existing electricity supply contract with AGL Energy expires in December 2028, with Tomago yet to identify a pathway that supports commercially sustainable operations beyond the period “despite extensive engagement and market approaches”, according to the miner’s statement.

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

“Unfortunately, all market proposals received so far show future energy prices are not commercially viable, and there is significant uncertainty about when renewable projects will be available at the scale we need,” Tomago Aluminium’s CEO, Jérôme Dozol, said.

A number of smelters in Australia are preparing to switch to 100% renewable energy in the coming decade. Tomago Aluminium, located north-west of Newcastle, had announced in 2021 it would “for all intents and purposes” be 100% renewable by 2029.

The board of Wing Tai Holdings Limited (SGX:W05) has announced that it will pay a dividend of SGD0.03 per share on the 17th of November. Including this payment, the dividend yield on the stock will be 2.0%, which is a modest boost for shareholders’ returns.

We’ve found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. Even in the absence of profits, Wing Tai Holdings is paying a dividend. The company is also yet to generate cash flow, so the dividend sustainability is definitely questionable.

Looking forward, earnings per share could 47.4% over the next year if the trend of the last few years can’t be broken. This means the company will be unprofitable and managers could face the tough choice between continuing to pay the dividend or taking pressure off the balance sheet.

View our latest analysis for Wing Tai Holdings

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The last annual payment of SGD0.03 was flat on the annual payment from10 years ago. It’s encouraging to see some dividend growth, but the dividend has been cut at least once, and the size of the cut would eliminate most of the growth anyway, which makes this less attractive as an income investment.

With a relatively unstable dividend, it’s even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Over the past five years, it looks as though Wing Tai Holdings’ EPS has declined at around 47% a year. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in.

Overall, this isn’t a great candidate as an income investment, even though the dividend was stable this year. The company seems to be stretching itself a bit to make such big payments, but it doesn’t appear they can be consistent over time. We don’t think that this is a great candidate to be an income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. For instance, we’ve picked out 1 warning sign for Wing Tai Holdings that investors should take into consideration. Is Wing Tai Holdings not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

NextEra has agreed to reopen a nuclear power station in Iowa that will primarily provide power to Google as the tech giant races to secure clean energy to drive its artificial intelligence data centres.

The largest renewable energy company in the US will lead the redevelopment of Duane Arnold Energy Center after Google signed a 25-year agreement to buy electricity from the power station. After being shut down for five years, it is expected to cost more than $1.6bn to restart.

Duane Arnold, a 615-megawatt plant, is expected to start delivering power by 2029, according to NextEra. It is the third US nuclear plant to begin the process of restarting operations.

“This partnership serves as a model for the investments needed across the country to build energy capacity and deliver reliable, clean power, while protecting affordability and creating jobs that will drive the AI-driven economy,” said Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google.

Google said it also agreed to explore opportunities with NextEra to deploy new nuclear generation capacity in the US amid soaring demand for electricity linked to the rollout of AI.

Nuclear power has been enjoying a renaissance in recent years following a move away from the fuel source due to increased competition from low-cost shale gas and the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan.

The ability of nuclear energy to provide round-the-clock carbon-free power has pushed it back into the spotlight as the world aims to slash emissions while feeding a rapidly growing need for electricity.

Google’s power supply deal with NextEra follows a similar agreement between Microsoft and Constellation Energy last year, which is expected to enable the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to reopen in 2028.

The Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan is scheduled to be the first fully decommissioned US nuclear power plant to reopen later this year.

It is much more cost effective and faster to reopen a mothballed power plant than build a new facility from scratch, according to nuclear experts.   

Critics of nuclear energy have warned that any effort to reopen retired power plants must not be rushed and should adhere to strict regulatory standards.  

Edwin Lyman, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said restarting Duane Arnold should proceed with extreme caution, particularly because of damage it sustained in a type of storm known as a derecho.

“The ageing reactor, which is the same design as the reactors that melted down at Fukushima, Japan in 2011, was shut down after it was struck by a derecho in August 2020 and suffered serious damage, including the destruction of its cooling towers,” Lyman said.

“Until NextEra presents a realistic estimate of the cost to rebuild the plant and restore it to a safe condition is developed, no one will really know if this reactor will be able to generate affordable electricity.”  

However, industry regulation is expected to grow and evolve as there are additional efforts to reopen shuttered reactors, according to Adam Stein, director of the nuclear energy innovation programme at The Breakthrough Institute.

“Thanks to the Palisades restart, there is a regulatory process and a clear understanding of what inspections need to be completed.”

As the 6G era approaches, the telecommunications industry is evolving through the integration of diverse technologies. Networks are no longer simple connection infrastructure — they’re becoming AI-driven platforms powering the future of service innovation.

In line with this transformation, Samsung Electronics is building a next-generation technology ecosystem through AI-native networks and strengthening global partnerships to prepare for the 6G era.

In the final part of this interview series, Samsung Newsroom spoke with JinGuk Jeong, Executive Vice President and Head of Advanced Communications Research Center (ACRC) at Samsung Electronics, about the company’s strategy to drive the convergence of telecommunications and AI for the 6G era through global partnerships.

Defining a New 6G Paradigm With AI-Native Networks

Ahead of the 6G era, the integration of AI and telecommunications is creating new value beyond performance gains. “The fusion of AI and telecommunications will deliver two core benefits — innovation in user experience and greater network efficiency through automation,” said Jeong. “To achieve this, Samsung is leading research on AI-native networks that embed AI across every layer of the telecommunications network.”

“AI native doesn’t mean applying AI to specific equipment or functions — it means embedding AI technologies throughout the entire process, from design to operation,” he continued. “For example, in the physical layer (L1), AI reduces noise in radio signals, while in the data link layer (L2), it efficiently allocates network resources for each user.” This approach enhances network performance while reducing power consumption, paving the way for a more sustainable telecommunications environment.

Advancing 6G Through Open Innovation and Collaboration

Through its AI-native approach, Samsung is developing intelligent networks that learn and optimize themselves. “Close collaboration with global telecom operators is essential to realizing the user experience innovations and operational efficiencies enabled by AI,” said Jeong. “Samsung is pursuing joint initiatives to bring these technologies to real-world network environments.”

“These efforts are driven by our open innovation strategy,” he added. “By diversifying collaborations with partners — from field trials with telecom operators to advanced research with academia and partnerships with global industry alliances — Samsung is expanding the ecosystem and taking a leading role in standardization.”

Since 2024, Samsung has strengthened its global partnerships. The company has worked with NTT DOCOMO on user-specific network optimization technologies and with KT to improve coverage and data transmission speeds in potential 6G frequency bands.

Samsung is also enhancing user experience through collaboration with KDDI Research on distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. With Verizon, the company is expanding global discussions on next-generation telecommunications through the Verizon 6G Innovation Forum. In addition, Samsung has begun research with SoftBank on AI-based network performance enhancements. Moving forward, the company plans to continue strengthening its partnerships with telecom operators worldwide.

Beyond these partnerships, Samsung is expanding the AI-driven telecommunications ecosystem through global collaborations. As part of the NextG Initiative Corporate Affiliates Program, the company is co-developing next-generation 6G technologies with Princeton University. Samsung is also broadening its collaboration with leading chip vendors, including Qualcomm, Intel, Arm and NVIDIA.

“The expansion of our partnerships with major telecom operators shows our commitment to turning the technological direction outlined in our 6G white paper earlier this year into concrete research agreements,” said Jeong. “In particular, AI-RAN has moved beyond general simulations and lab-based testing and can now be validated in real-world network environments — allowing global telecom operators to directly experience its benefits. This will be a key driver in accelerating global standardization discussions.”

Global Leadership Toward 6G

Samsung is also leading technical discussions within global industry alliances, shaping the transition to the 6G era.

Since the founding of the AI-RAN Alliance in 2024, Samsung has served as vice chair of the board and chair of Working Group 3 (AI-on-RAN) — spearheading efforts to explore new services through the convergence of AI and wireless technologies. As vice chair of the board for the Next G Alliance, the company also plays a key role in driving research, development and standardization for 6G across North America. “Leveraging our industry-leading expertise in semiconductors, hardware, and software, Samsung is helping lead technical discussions and decision-making within these global alliances,” said Jeong.

Building on its strengths, Samsung continues to demonstrate leadership on the global stage by showcasing proven technologies. At international exhibitions such as Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, the company drew significant attention with its latest AI-RAN innovations. Through its own Silicon Valley Future Wireless Summit, Samsung invites telecom operators, manufacturers, government agencies, and academic experts from around the world to share the latest research and achievements in AI-powered telecommunications.

Under the theme “Future Wireless for the AI Era,” last year’s Silicon Valley Future Wireless Summit featured a live demonstration of AI-RAN technologies and explored AI integration, sustainability and user experience innovation. “This year’s summit, scheduled for November, will take place under the theme ‘Unlocking New Possibilities With AI-Centric Networks,’” said Jeong. “We plan to showcase AI-RAN technologies validated in real network environments, along with innovative real-world applications.”

Transforming Everyday Life Through Next-Generation Communications

Samsung’s ongoing participation in global alliances and international forums is ultimately aimed at creating meaningful user experiences in everyday life. “In the 6G era, we’ll go beyond improving network performance. Services such as AR and XR will become more widespread, and entirely new ones will emerge,” said Jeong. “Events like the 6G Innovation Forum will also focus on these new services.”

Mobile communications technology has evolved in roughly 10-year cycles, with each generation delivering leaps in performance. The 6G era, however, will redefine network performance and serve as a catalyst for transformative services across industries and everyday life. With ultra-high speeds, ultra-low latency and massive connectivity, 6G is expected to deliver unprecedented communication quality and differentiated user experiences.

Samsung is ushering in a new paradigm through the convergence of telecommunications and AI. By working closely with telecom operators, global industry alliances and academia, the company is leading next-generation communications innovation through ongoing technical collaboration and shared achievements.

With this fourth and final installment, the Next-Generation Communications Leadership series has explored Samsung’s 6G standardization vision, global leadership initiatives, AI-RAN research achievements and global partnership strategy. As Samsung prepares for the 6G era with its unrivaled leadership, the company is poised to bring meaningful change to everyday life.

More than a million ChatGPT users each week send messages that include “explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent”, according to a blogpost published by OpenAI on Monday. The finding, part of an update on how the chatbot handles sensitive conversations, is one of the most direct statements from the artificial intelligence giant on the scale of how AI can exacerbate mental health issues.

In addition to its estimates on suicidal ideations and related interactions, OpenAI also said that about 0.07 of users active in a given week – about 560,000 of its touted 800m weekly users – show “possible signs of mental health emergencies related to psychosis or mania”. The post cautioned that these conversations were difficult to detect or measure, and that this was an initial analysis.

As OpenAI releases data on mental health issues related to its marquee product, the company is facing increased scrutiny following a highly publicized lawsuit from the family of a teenage boy who died by suicide after extensive engagement with ChatGPT. The Federal Trade Commission last month additionally launched a broad investigation into companies that create AI chatbots, including OpenAI, to find how they measure negative impacts on children and teens.

OpenAI claimed in its post that its recent GPT-5 update reduced the number of undesirable behaviors from its product and improved user safety in a model evaluation involving more than 1,000 self-harm and suicide conversations. The company did not immediately return a request for comment.

“Our new automated evaluations score the new GPT‑5 model at 91% compliant with our desired behaviors, compared to 77% for the previous GPT‑5 model,” the company’s post reads.

OpenAI stated that GPT-5 expanded access to crisis hotlines and added reminders for users to take breaks during long sessions. To make improvements to the model, the company said it enlisted 170 clinicians from its Global Physician Network of health care experts to assist its research over recent months, which included rating the safety of its model’s responses and helping write the chatbot’s answers to mental-health related questions.

“As part of this work, psychiatrists and psychologists reviewed more than 1,800 model responses involving serious mental health situations and compared responses from the new GPT‑5 chat model to previous models,” OpenAI said. The company’s definition of “desirable” involved determining whether a group of its experts reached the same conclusion about what would be an appropriate response in certain situations.

AI researchers and public health advocates have long been wary of chatbots’ propensity to affirm users’ decisions or delusions regardless of whether they may be harmful, an issue known as sycophancy. Mental health experts have also been concerned about people using AI chatbots for psychological support and warned how it could harm vulnerable users.

The language in OpenAI’s post distances the company from any potential causal links between its product and the mental health crises that its users are experiencing.

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

“Mental health symptoms and emotional distress are universally present in human societies, and an increasing user base means that some portion of ChatGPT conversations include these situations,” OpenAI’s post stated.

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman earlier this month claimed in a post on X that the company had made advancements in treating mental health issues, announcing that OpenAI would ease restrictions and soon begin to allow adults to create erotic content.

“We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right,” Altman posted. “Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.”