Can Tech Get Rid of Bad Trips? (www.wired.com)

WIRED’s Uncanny Valley episode covers how drug culture and tech are colliding: teenagers are reviving the dangerous “Benadryl challenge” (massive diphenhydramine overdoses that produce deliriant, often terrifying hallucinations like the memeified “Hat Man”), legacy consciousness tools like the Monroe Institute’s Gateway Tapes and binaural beats are seeing renewed interest for out‑of‑body experiences, and startups and researchers are experimenting with AI — from chatbots that provide in‑trip therapeutic support to AI‑driven drug design that aims to preserve therapeutic effects without the subjective “trip.” The episode mixes first‑hand anecdotes with reporting on rising Benadryl overdoses, explains the mechanics (diphenhydramine acts as a deliriant; binaural beats use slightly different audio frequencies per ear to entrain brain states), and flags a WIRED piece about a startup using AI to attempt a non‑hallucinogenic “psychedelic.” For the AI/ML community the story highlights both opportunity and caution. AI can accelerate molecule discovery, personalize harm‑reduction coaching, and scale therapy‑adjacent supports, but current tools lack robust clinical validation and can amplify cultural expectancies (memes shape hallucinations). Platform virality, socioeconomic drivers (cheap, accessible substances), and content moderation gaps are key risks. Bottom line: tech can reduce some harms and enable novel therapeutics, but it won’t magically eliminate “bad trips” without clinical trials, human oversight, better moderation, and attention to the social factors that drive risky behavior.