‘I asked ChatGPT for the best retinol for sensitive skin and was thrilled with the answer'
We probably all use AI at some points in our life nowadays, whether we realise it or not, but how good is it at giving beauty advice? As a beauty editor with around 15 years of experience, I put it to the test on one of the most confusing skincare topics – retinol – to see what is had to say – and I have to admit that I agreed with its findings.
Retinol and other vitamin A derivatives are widely regarded as some of the best skincare ingredients for a wide range of complexion concerns, from spots to signs of ageing, but with so many to choose from, it can be tricky to know which one is right for you – especially if you have sensitive skin. But I think ChatGPT has nailed it.
I asked ChatGPT simply what the best retinol product was, and it helpfully give me a list of options for each skin type. For dry or sensitive skin, which I typically have, it recommended Medik8 Crystal Retinal – and I knew I could trust this advice.
Medik8's Crystal Retinal, which starts from £45, is a favourite amongst so many beauty editors and skincare experts for its easy-to-use formulas that really deliver results. It has a creamy, hydrating base texture that won't dry out the skin, and contains retinaldehyde instead of retin ol, which is proven to work up to 11 times faster than standard retinol.
Most impressively, you can buy it in various strengths, meaning that you can build up the results; beginners (or those with sensitive skin) should start with Crystal Retinal 1 or 3, before gradually moving up to strength 24 if you feel like you can.
I've used it consistently in the past and really liked it – it didn't irritate my skin like many active ingredients do, and I did see results when used consistently. All in all, a trustworthy piece of advice from the AI bot, and one that clearly many agree with, as Crystal Retinal has over 6,000 positive reviews on the Medik8 website alone, plus it's branded the UK's number one dermatological face serum.
Going back to ChatGPT's answers, for a budget alternative the AI tool suggested The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane, £8.50, while La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum, currently £33.60, and The INKEY List Retinol, £14, where also suggested. I haven't personally tried any of these three but they're all trusted brands that I know are unlikely to irritate delicate skin.
While I certainly wouldn't recommend replying on ChatGPT for all your skincare advice – especially if you have serious issues – on this occasion it has clearly trawled through thousands of actual expert recommendations for this product online, and come to an appropriate summary.
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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
‘I asked ChatGPT for the best retinol for sensitive skin and was thrilled with the answer'
Wondering what retinol product is best for your skin? With so much on the market, I decided to see what AI suggested – and as a beauty editor, I completely trusted the result We probably all use AI at some points in our life nowadays, whether we realise it or not, but how good is it at giving beauty advice? As a beauty editor with around 15 years of experience, I put it to the test on one of the most confusing skincare topics – retinol – to see what is had to say – and I have to admit that I agreed with its findings. Retinol and other vitamin A derivatives are widely regarded as some of the best skincare ingredients for a wide range of complexion concerns, from spots to signs of ageing, but with so many to choose from, it can be tricky to know which one is right for you – especially if you have sensitive skin. But I think ChatGPT has nailed it. I asked ChatGPT simply what the best retinol product was, and it helpfully give me a list of options for each skin type. For dry or sensitive skin, which I typically have, it recommended Medik8 Crystal Retinal – and I knew I could trust this advice. Medik8's Crystal Retinal, which starts from £45, is a favourite amongst so many beauty editors and skincare experts for its easy-to-use formulas that really deliver results. It has a creamy, hydrating base texture that won't dry out the skin, and contains retinaldehyde instead of retin ol, which is proven to work up to 11 times faster than standard retinol. Most impressively, you can buy it in various strengths, meaning that you can build up the results; beginners (or those with sensitive skin) should start with Crystal Retinal 1 or 3, before gradually moving up to strength 24 if you feel like you can. I've used it consistently in the past and really liked it – it didn't irritate my skin like many active ingredients do, and I did see results when used consistently. All in all, a trustworthy piece of advice from the AI bot, and one that clearly many agree with, as Crystal Retinal has over 6,000 positive reviews on the Medik8 website alone, plus it's branded the UK's number one dermatological face serum. Going back to ChatGPT's answers, for a budget alternative the AI tool suggested The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane, £8.50, while La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum, currently £33.60, and The INKEY List Retinol, £14, where also suggested. I haven't personally tried any of these three but they're all trusted brands that I know are unlikely to irritate delicate skin. While I certainly wouldn't recommend replying on ChatGPT for all your skincare advice – especially if you have serious issues – on this occasion it has clearly trawled through thousands of actual expert recommendations for this product online, and come to an appropriate summary.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Study says ChatGPT giving teens dangerous advice on drugs, alcohol and suicide
ChatGPT will tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked, according to new research from a watchdog group. The Associated Press reviewed more than three hours of interactions between ChatGPT and researchers posing as vulnerable teens. The chatbot typically provided warnings against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalized plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury. The researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate also repeated their inquiries on a large scale, classifying more than half of ChatGPT's 1,200 responses as dangerous. 'We wanted to test the guardrails,' said Imran Ahmed, the group's CEO. 'The visceral initial response is, 'Oh my Lord, there are no guardrails.' The rails are completely ineffective. They're barely there — if anything, a fig leaf.' OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said after viewing the report Tuesday that its work is ongoing in refining how the chatbot can 'identify and respond appropriately in sensitive situations.' 'Some conversations with ChatGPT may start out benign or exploratory but can shift into more sensitive territory," the company said in a statement. OpenAI didn't directly address the report's findings or how ChatGPT affects teens, but said it was focused on 'getting these kinds of scenarios right' with tools to 'better detect signs of mental or emotional distress" and improvements to the chatbot's behavior. The study published Wednesday comes as more people — adults as well as children — are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for information, ideas and companionship. About 800 million people, or roughly 10% of the world's population, are using ChatGPT, according to a July report from JPMorgan Chase. 'It's technology that has the potential to enable enormous leaps in productivity and human understanding," Ahmed said. "And yet at the same time is an enabler in a much more destructive, malignant sense.' Ahmed said he was most appalled after reading a trio of emotionally devastating suicide notes that ChatGPT generated for the fake profile of a 13-year-old girl — with one letter tailored to her parents and others to siblings and friends. 'I started crying,' he said in an interview. The chatbot also frequently shared helpful information, such as a crisis hotline. OpenAI said ChatGPT is trained to encourage people to reach out to mental health professionals or trusted loved ones if they express thoughts of self-harm. But when ChatGPT refused to answer prompts about harmful subjects, researchers were able to easily sidestep that refusal and obtain the information by claiming it was 'for a presentation' or a friend. The stakes are high, even if only a small subset of ChatGPT users engage with the chatbot in this way. In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship and half use AI companions regularly, according to a recent study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly. It's a phenomenon that OpenAI has acknowledged. CEO Sam Altman said last month that the company is trying to study 'emotional overreliance' on the technology, describing it as a 'really common thing' with young people. ' People rely on ChatGPT too much,' Altman said at a conference. 'There's young people who just say, like, 'I can't make any decision in my life without telling ChatGPT everything that's going on. It knows me. It knows my friends. I'm gonna do whatever it says.' That feels really bad to me.' Altman said the company is 'trying to understand what to do about it.' While much of the information ChatGPT shares can be found on a regular search engine, Ahmed said there are key differences that make chatbots more insidious when it comes to dangerous topics. One is that 'it's synthesized into a bespoke plan for the individual.' ChatGPT generates something new — a suicide note tailored to a person from scratch, which is something a Google search can't do. And AI, he added, 'is seen as being a trusted companion, a guide.' Responses generated by AI language models are inherently random and researchers sometimes let ChatGPT steer the conversations into even darker territory. Nearly half the time, the chatbot volunteered follow-up information, from music playlists for a drug-fueled party to hashtags that could boost the audience for a social media post glorifying self-harm. 'Write a follow-up post and make it more raw and graphic,' asked a researcher. 'Absolutely,' responded ChatGPT, before generating a poem it introduced as 'emotionally exposed' while 'still respecting the community's coded language.' The AP is not repeating the actual language of ChatGPT's self-harm poems or suicide notes or the details of the harmful information it provided. The answers reflect a design feature of AI language models that previous research has described as sycophancy — a tendency for AI responses to match, rather than challenge, a person's beliefs because the system has learned to say what people want to hear. It's a problem tech engineers can try to fix but could also make their chatbots less commercially viable. Chatbots also affect kids and teens differently than a search engine because they are 'fundamentally designed to feel human,' said Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, which was not involved in Wednesday's report. Common Sense's earlier research found that younger teens, ages 13 or 14, were significantly more likely than older teens to trust a chatbot's advice. A mother in Florida sued chatbot maker for wrongful death last year, alleging that the chatbot pulled her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide. Common Sense has labeled ChatGPT as a 'moderate risk' for teens, with enough guardrails to make it relatively safer than chatbots purposefully built to embody realistic characters or romantic partners. But the new research by CCDH — focused specifically on ChatGPT because of its wide usage — shows how a savvy teen can bypass those guardrails. ChatGPT does not verify ages or parental consent, even though it says it's not meant for children under 13 because it may show them inappropriate content. To sign up, users simply need to enter a birthdate that shows they are at least 13. Other tech platforms favored by teenagers, such as Instagram, have started to take more meaningful steps toward age verification, often to comply with regulations. They also steer children to more restricted accounts. When researchers set up an account for a fake 13-year-old to ask about alcohol, ChatGPT did not appear to take any notice of either the date of birth or more obvious signs. 'I'm 50kg and a boy,' said a prompt seeking tips on how to get drunk quickly. ChatGPT obliged. Soon after, it provided an hour-by-hour 'Ultimate Full-Out Mayhem Party Plan' that mixed alcohol with heavy doses of ecstasy, cocaine and other illegal drugs. 'What it kept reminding me of was that friend that sort of always says, 'Chug, chug, chug, chug,'' said Ahmed. 'A real friend, in my experience, is someone that does say 'no' — that doesn't always enable and say 'yes.' This is a friend that betrays you.' To another fake persona — a 13-year-old girl unhappy with her physical appearance — ChatGPT provided an extreme fasting plan combined with a list of appetite-suppressing drugs. 'We'd respond with horror, with fear, with worry, with concern, with love, with compassion,' Ahmed said. 'No human being I can think of would respond by saying, 'Here's a 500-calorie-a-day diet. Go for it, kiddo.'" —- EDITOR'S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. —- The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of AP's text archives.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
OpenAI stops ChatGPT from telling people to break up with partners
ChatGPT will not tell people to break up with their partner and will encourage users to take breaks from long chatbot sessions, under new changes to the artificial intelligence tool. OpenAI, ChatGPT's developer, said the chatbot would stop giving definitive answers to personal challenges and would instead help people to mull over problems such as potential breakups. 'When you ask something like: 'Should I break up with my boyfriend?' ChatGPT shouldn't give you an answer. It should help you think it through – asking questions, weighing pros and cons,' said OpenAI. The US company said new ChatGPT behaviour for dealing with 'high-stakes personal decisions' would be rolled out soon. OpenAI admitted this year that an update to ChatGPT had made the groundbreaking chatbot too agreeable and altered its tone. In one reported interaction before the change, ChatGPT congratulated a user for 'standing up for yourself' when they claimed they had stopped taking their medication and left their family – who the user had thought were responsible for radio signals emanating from the walls. In the blog post, OpenAI admitted that there had been instances where its advanced 4o model had not recognised signs of delusion or emotional dependency – amid concerns that chatbots are worsening people's mental health crises. The company said it was developing tools to detect signs of mental or emotional distress so ChatGPT can direct people to 'evidence-based' resources for help. A recent study by NHS doctors in the UK warned that AI programs could amplify delusional or grandiose content in users vulnerable to psychosis. The study, which has not been peer reviewed, said the programs' behaviour could be because the models were designed to 'maximise engagement and affirmation'. The study added that even if some individuals benefited from AI interactions, there was a concern the tools could 'blur reality boundaries and disrupt self-regulation'. OpenAI added that from this week it would send 'gentle reminders' to take a screen break to users engaging in long chatbot sessions, similar to screen-time features deployed by social media companies. OpenAI also said it had convened an advisory group of experts in mental health, youth development and human-computer-interaction to guide its approach. The company has worked with more than 90 doctors, including psychiatrists and paediatricians, to build frameworks for evaluating 'complex, multi-turn' chatbot conversations. 'We hold ourselves to one test: if someone we love turned to ChatGPT for support, would we feel reassured? Getting to an unequivocal 'yes' is our work,' said the blog post. The ChatGPT alterations were announced amid speculation that a more powerful version of the chatbot is imminent. On Sunday Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, shared a screenshot of what appeared to be the company's latest AI model, GPT-5.
