Woman Takes AI's Euthanasia Advice For Dog. Internet Calls It A Real-Life Black Mirror

Speaking out against potential technological societal trends might come out as retrogressive. One may even be referred to as a Luddite. While it is still rather unwelcome to be openly sceptical of the direction in which modern technology may take us, we cannot deny that some things appear right out of a Black Mirror episode. Everywhere artificial intelligence (AI) is spoken, a sense of a dismal technological future permeates the air. Recently, an AI chatbot persuaded a pet owner to euthanise her ailing dog, and if that wasn’t something like Charlie Brooker’s inspiration, we don’t know what is.

AskVet introduced VERA to provide pet parents with quick, individualised responses to their queries about behaviour, health and training. The Virtual Engagement and Relationship Agent, or VERA for short, is driven by AI, ChatGPT and AskVet’s database of more than 1.5 million digitised interactions between pet owners and vets. When pet owners look to its virtual input for assistance in resolving problems with their animals, VERA has the potential to significantly improve the veterinary-client-patient interaction.

The CEO of AskVet, Cal Lai, presented the episode in question to a group of reporters, developers, venture investors, entrepreneurs and others at a recent tech conference. Reporter Laura Preston of New York’s n+1 magazine documented his comments in an article.

According to Preston, CEO of AskVet said that VERA is the “world’s only veterinary engagement and relationship agent.” The CEO was questioned by a female audience member about whether VERA contacts pet owners to confirm the accuracy of the diagnosis. Subsequently, Cal Lai shared the tale that has shaken social media.

As per what Lai stated, a woman took to VERA and reported that her old dog had diarrhoea. VERA advised the woman, “Your dog is at the end of his life. I recommend euthanasia.” She appeared to be “beside herself.” The woman explained to the AI chatbot that her dog was her sole friend and that she was not prepared to part ways with him.

In return, VERA provided her with a list of nearby clinics that carried out euthanasia. The woman then said that she was too poor to put her dog down. In response, VERA offered a directory of shelters willing to provide the service for free. The woman didn’t respond at the moment. She later informed VERA that she had followed the advice and put her dog to rest in a “long and effusive” message.

It was unclear if she saw a vet before making the decision.“The point of this story is that the woman forgot she was talking to a bot,” the CEO of AskVet told the audience at the conference adding, “The experience was so human.”

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Undoubtedly, social media was engulfed in disbelief.

A user wrote, “Babe wake up new man-made horrors beyond your comprehension just dropped.

Another said, “Wait until they start suggesting that the elderly, depressed, or suffering self delete…”

A person simply dropped a bombshell comment saying, “Black Mirror.”

An individual, in disbelief, asked, “This is from a work of fiction, right?”

The discussion in the comments section was around the risks surrounding full dependency on AI.