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The misinformation becomes deeper.

Gerald Wilgus

Gerald Wilgus

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
This is a bit long but I think it demonstrates the problems with AI spreading misinformation. Here is an item I have seen on the internet:

OP: I had an AI entity generate this exceptionally obvious abstract.
Abstract

Background: Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is widely used for pain relief and fever reduction during pregnancy; however, it is also a leading cause of acute liver failure in children due to overdose. This raises significant concerns about its safety, particularly regarding prenatal exposure. Emerging evidence suggests potential links between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This abstract aims to summarize the current understanding of the mechanisms by which acetaminophen may influence fetal development and contribute to the risk of autism.

Methods: A review of recent epidemiological studies and biological mechanisms was conducted to assess the relationship between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and the development of ASD. Key factors considered include the pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen in relation to fetal body mass, the role of toxic metabolites, and the impact of maternal health.

Results: Studies indicate that acetaminophen can cross the placental barrier, exposing the developing fetus to its effects. The fetal liver, still maturing, may be less capable of metabolizing acetaminophen, leading to the accumulation of toxic metabolites such as N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI). This accumulation can induce oxidative stress and inflammation, potentially disrupting normal neurodevelopment. Epidemiological data have shown associations between maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy and increased risk of ASD in offspring, although causation remains to be definitively established.

Conclusion: The potential link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism is a growing area of concern. Given the vulnerability of the developing fetus, particularly in terms of body mass and organ maturity, further research is essential to elucidate the mechanisms involved and to establish clear guidelines for acetaminophen use during pregnancy. Awareness of these risks is crucial for healthcare providers and expectant mothers to make informed decisions regarding pain management and fever treatment during pregnancy.

My response:
There is nothing that supports that Acetaminophen causes autism in peer reviewed literature. Correlation is not causation. One may as well make the claim that drinking dihydrogen monoxide during pregnancy is linked to autism. The “methods” demonstrate that no actual research was done, and postulating damage based upon metabolic pathways is pure speculation and is not a legitimate result when the metabolites you mention are directly measurable. So, the conclusion is absolute nonsense. One would need to demonstrate glutathione depletion and escape from NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase allowing NAPQI to enter the bloodstream before its binding with mitochondrial proteins in the liver. Furthermore, while NAPQI can be generated by the mitochondria in the brain, NAPQI is not seen in the brain even at hepatotoxic concentrations of Acetaminophen. This study completely disputes the ignorant assertion of the AI you use; Toxicol Sci . 2025 Jun 1;205(2):274-278.

The driver of neurodevelopment timing and expression are clusters of genes (and probably some pleiotropic regulators). Nothing is as impactful in the development of autism as genetics.

You have demonstrated that AI is susceptible to promoting misinformation and it gives new emphasis that ignorant opinion is not the same as expertise. Cherry picked Google and AI misinformation does not count as expertise.
 
To me, the most obvious rebuttal is
  1. The ASD2/3 epidemic started in 1979.
  2. Acetaminophen became over-the-counter [in America] in 1960. (It was available by prescription since 1950.)
 
i mean i don't have idea, but if a study links autism with this medicine, they should ban it and thats it, i don't see a political motive behind this, they may sincerely linked in some study supposedly from 'harvard', ban the medicine until further study idk. I think nobody claims this is going to 'solve autism' or something
 
I already feel like screaming my lungs out if I even hear the word "Tylenol" one more time.
As always, nobody listens or cares about how we, on the spectrum, feel about this vile male bovine excrement the orange dictator and wormbrain keep spewing everywhere. Do they think it feels good, being reminded once again for the eighty billionth time that the world thinks we're diseased and broken and shouldn't even be allowed to exist?? No, they don't! I can't stand it anymore, I just want to go to sleep forever.
 
I'm not sure if there is a link or not. I imagine it is much more complicated than what is being claimed. But I appreciate the government focusing and discussing autism because I feel like the issues that come with autism have not received enough serious attention from the federal government. And more broadly, health in America has not received enough serious attention from the federal government. American health has been on the decline for many decades. Obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, high blood pressure, heart disease and other chronic diseases are all too common, and are diminishing the quality of life for Americans. Sadly, some of these chronic conditions have become the norm, rather than exception. I realize that the federal government is not the only one to blame for these issues, but it has been part of the problem and our leaders have been asleep at the wheel far too long. There has been no focus on taking corrective actions to combat the chronic disease. The focus has instead been on health care coverage and health care costs, when I believe there needs to be much more focus on American health. I understand I am off topic from the original post, but I believe it was an important point to make. Whether we view autism as a disability or not, I think we all can agree that it presents unique challenges for those with autism and their families. It's nice to shed some light on an issue that too often is ignored by the general public. Hopefully it is the right ray of light.

I think this is one of many examples of why Trump is the current president - government has too often failed to address the problems that are right in front of our faces on a day to day basis. He wasn't afraid to discuss some of the obvious issues that other politicians fail to mention.
 
NB79 said:
i mean i don't have idea, but if a study links autism with this medicine, they should ban it and thats it, i don't see a political motive behind this, they may sincerely linked in some study supposedly from 'harvard', ban the medicine until further study idk. I think nobody claims this is going to 'solve autism' or something
Click to expand...
Not all studies use good research methods.

Just because a study has been done and published, doesn't mean the results obtained or conclusions the authors (people who designed and conducted the study) have drawn are valid/accurate/correct.

This is why peer review is important -it doesn't solve the problem of flawed research being published and affecting both public opinion and health regulations, but is is one safeguard....

And in today's world simple peer review is one sort of safeguard against misinformation (which is unintentional false information -- versus "disinformation" which is intentional false information known to be false by those who spread it -- basically synonymous with "propaganda") that is increasingly easy to avoid...because anyone can publish anything on the internet, or even start their own not-reputable online "journal" with zero qualifications and requiring zero peer review process to have studies published.

And most non-experts and non-academics generally, (I think) have no idea how to tell if research is good quality or not...there are a lot of things to consider when evaluating the credibility and significance of any study.

I seem to have slightly more knowledge about this than your average layperson, but I readily admit I don't consider myself qualified to judge research quality because I have almost no knowledge of statistics and know only basic things. But the basic things I know to look at (sample size, conflict of interest of study authors, qualifications and academic and other types of institutions affiliations held by authors, metrics used if something is being quantified, variables considered and controlled for or not, blinding etc) it seems like most people are not even aware affect research quality.

More reason than ever I think that education systems the world over really need to emphasize critical thinking skills and get over the entrenchment of memorization and silencing supposedly "irrelevent" questions in defernce to the agenda of the authority figure (eg teacher, curriculum). Also why scientific literacy is so important.
 
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i don't trust AI to get me even information for games, i mean it can be easy to find some resume of info with ai, but it seems like it makes a regurgitation of things online and lots of times is bad information.
 
NB79 said:
i mean i don't have idea, but if a study links autism with this medicine, they should ban it and thats it, i don't see a political motive behind this, they may sincerely linked in some study supposedly from 'harvard', ban the medicine until further study idk. I think nobody claims this is going to 'solve autism' or something
Click to expand...

Running a fever during pregnancy is very dangerous to the fetus. Tylenol helps reduce fever and I don't know of any medication "safer" than Tylenol to address fever during pregnancy.

I think this "new" causation theory is nothing more than just another theory, unsupported by reliable scientific data, of what causes autism.
 
I guess when I visit Cuba Really do not exist. Have not visited for the last few years, not interested in visiting while it is such a chaotic state, no power food in security.
 
AI is doing exactly what people do with historical texts (mythical or factual, et. al.) - cherry picking, out-of-context and re-interpretations to support the "asked for" and/or "expected" result.

That's another set of traits that lends to it being human, actually. That's scary.
 
Gerald Wilgus said:
This is a bit long but I think it demonstrates the problems with AI spreading misinformation...
Click to expand...
There is no misinformation in ChatGPT's response. ChatGPT accurately used the word "links" which refers to correlation, not causation. Multiple studies have linked Tylenol to autism. That's an undisputed fact that I first read about years ago.

Most studies are correlational and rightfully so because this is the first step to find causation (for large risk factors, you can't have causation without correlation). To test whether a potentially toxic chemical causes autism, you'd have to run an experiment deliberately exposing thousands of babies to the chemical and compare the autism rate to babies not exposed to it to test whether there is a statistically significant difference in autism rates.

As far as the chemical, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), I don't know anything about it but all AI models are known to hallucinate so it's important to always verify important details. With the potential exception of this chemical, ChatGPT's response is very accurate.
 
Matthias said:
There is no misinformation in ChatGPT's response. ChatGPT accurately used the word "links" which refers to correlation, not causation. Multiple studies have linked Tylenol to autism. That's an undisputed fact that I first read about years ago.

Most studies are correlational and rightfully so because this is the first step to find causation (for large risk factors, you can't have causation without correlation). To test whether a potentially toxic chemical causes autism, you'd have to run an experiment deliberately exposing thousands of babies to the chemical and compare the autism rate to babies not exposed to it to test whether there is a statistically significant difference in autism rates.

As far as the chemical, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), I don't know anything about it but all AI models are known to hallucinate so it's important to always verify important details.
Click to expand...
The "natural experiment" that will allow this hypothesis to be tested would be to ban the chemical, and see if rates of autism drop.

It will take a minimum of 3 years to see preliminary results (have to wait until children born in a post Tylenol world are old enough to be accurately diagnosed).

Oddly, this will not happen until those who currently promote this "study" are out of office and so can not be held responsible for their false claims.
 
TBRS1 said:
The "natural experiment" that will allow this hypothesis to be tested would be to ban the chemical, and see if rates of autism drop.

It will take a minimum of 3 years to see preliminary results (have to wait until children born in a post Tylenol world are old enough to be accurately diagnosed).

Oddly, this will not happen until those who currently promote this "study" are out of office and so can not be held responsible for their false claims.
Click to expand...
The experiment you suggest is flawed. If Tylenol causes autism, the rate of autism could remain the same or even increase after it is banned. Therefore, the study wouldn't reveal anything about the chemical in question.

Here's an example to reveal why: Let's suppose Tylenol was responsible for 2% of autism cases. If Tylenol were banned and something else that caused 30% of autism cases increased, the rate of autism could go up despite one of the causes being eliminated. This is why you'd need a large scale double blind, placebo controlled study to test it.
 
I don't know why a study made by certain political side suddenly is the worse thing, and what not,
spreading lies and misinformation, i believe in giving a chance to things even if you don't like the one presenting it.
 
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