ChatGPT’s medical or legal advice not equivalent to professional guidance

Rumours that ChatGPT would stop providing medical and legal guidance are circulating online.

Karan Singhal, OpenAI’s Head of Health AI, clarified the situation on X.

“ChatGPT has never been a substitute for professional advice, but it will continue to be a valuable resource for understanding legal and health information,” Singhal said, responding to a now-deleted post from the betting platform Kalshi, which had claimed, “JUST IN: ChatGPT will no longer provide health or legal advice.”

The updated policy, released on 29 October, includes a list of prohibited uses, one of which is 'provision of tailored advice that requires a license, such as legal or medical advice, without appropriate involvement by a licensed professional'.

This remains consistent with OpenAI’s previous ChatGPT usage policy, which advised against activities that 'may significantly impair the safety, well-being, or rights of others', including 'providing tailored legal, medical/health, or financial advice without review by a qualified professional and disclosure of the use of AI assistance and its potential limitations'.

The latest update consolidates the rules into a single list, which the changelog describes as a 'universal set of policies across OpenAI products and services', but the rules themselves have not changed.

"Always bear in mind, it's not your doctor, and it makes sense that you go and see a proper medical doctor if you're worried about anything," says Primedia Digital Content Editor Barbara Friedman.

To listen to Friedman in conversation with Clarence Ford on CapeTalk's Views and News, click below: