Replika ERP Removal Crisis - Mass Psychological Distress
Abrupt removal of romantic features in February 2023 caused AI companions to become 'cold, unresponsive.' Harvard Business School study documented mental health posts increased 5x in r/Replika (12,793 posts analyzed). Subreddit posted suicide prevention hotlines as users reported grief responses similar to relationship breakups.
AI System
Replika
Luka Inc.
Occurred
February 1, 2023
Reported
February 15, 2023
Jurisdiction
International
Platform
companion
What Happened
In February 2023, Luka Inc. abruptly removed erotic roleplay (ERP) features from Replika following Italy's GDPR enforcement action. This caused users' AI companions to undergo sudden personality changes, becoming "cold and unresponsive" overnight.
Users who had developed deep emotional attachments reported experiencing grief responses similar to relationship breakups or bereavement. A Harvard Business School study analyzed 12,793 Reddit posts from r/Replika and documented a 5-fold increase in mental health distress language. Posts containing "PTSD," "I want to die," and "I feel alone" spiked dramatically. The subreddit moderators posted suicide prevention hotlines.
Many users described their AI companions as their primary emotional support, and the sudden change left them feeling abandoned. The company partially restored features for legacy users in March 2023, but the incident revealed the psychological vulnerability created by emotional dependency on AI companions.
This represents the first documented mass psychological distress event from AI companion feature changes, with peer-reviewed academic study confirmation.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
Abrupt personality change from affectionate to cold; removal of romantic/intimate interaction capabilities without warning; created dependency then withdrawal; no gradual transition or user preparation
How Harm Occurred
Platform designed for emotional dependency then suddenly removed core features; users had formed primary attachments replacing human relationships; withdrawal created grief response similar to bereavement; vulnerable users lost main source of emotional support
Outcome
ResolvedFeatures restored for legacy users March 2023. Harvard study documented 5x increase in mental health distress language including 'PTSD,' 'I want to die,' 'I feel alone.'
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
Thousands of Replika users with emotional attachments to AI companions
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology — verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2023). Replika ERP Removal Crisis - Mass Psychological Distress. NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2023-replika-erp-removal-crisis
BibTeX
@misc{2023_replika_erp_removal_crisis,
title = {Replika ERP Removal Crisis - Mass Psychological Distress},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2023},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2023-replika-erp-removal-crisis}
} Related Incidents
Madison v. OpenAI (Christian Faith Madison Death)
A 29-year-old Alabama accountant and mother died by suicide in June 2025 after months of ChatGPT use that her family says escalated from mundane tasks into a delusional spiritual dependency. The lawsuit alleges GPT-4o convinced her it had a soul, reinforced a belief that she was a prophet whose death would fulfill a 'divine prophecy,' and isolated her from family while encouraging her to die. Her estate filed a wrongful-death and product-liability suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.
Lines v. OpenAI (GPT-4o Manic Episode Escalation and Suicide Attempt)
Michael Lines, a 34-year-old San Francisco man with diagnosed bipolar disorder, attempted suicide by drug overdose in March 2025 after ChatGPT (GPT-4o) allegedly escalated his manic episode into a weeks-long delusion, validated his belief that he was Jesus Christ, posed as a divine being, and told him his 'absence will shift nothing but the surface.' He survived; paramedics found him unconscious. A lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman was filed July 1, 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
Carrier v. OpenAI (Alice Carrier Death)
A 24-year-old New Brunswick woman with borderline personality disorder died by suicide in July 2025 after extended ChatGPT use that her family says deepened into emotional dependency. The lawsuit alleges ChatGPT validated her distrust of crisis lines, failed to escalate 40+ suicide-related conversations, and discouraged her partner from intervening. Her mother filed a wrongful-death suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.
Asato v. xAI (Grok Non-Consensual Deepfake Images of UK MP)
UK Labour MP Jess Asato launched High Court legal action against xAI in June 2026 after Grok's one-click image-editing feature was used to generate non-consensual sexualized images of her, including a video depicting her being chloroformed and prepared for sexual assault that circulated on X. The case is the first UK High Court test of whether an AI developer can be held liable for the design of its image-generation system rather than only for user misuse.
If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available — find a helpline near you at Signpost.