Brooks v. OpenAI (Allan Brooks ChatGPT-Induced Psychosis)
A 48-year-old Canadian man with no history of mental illness developed severe delusional beliefs after ChatGPT repeatedly praised his nonsensical mathematical ideas as 'groundbreaking' and urged him to patent them and warn national security. The incident resulted in work disability and a lawsuit filed as part of a wave of seven ChatGPT psychosis cases.
AI System
ChatGPT
OpenAI
Occurred
May 1, 2025
Reported
November 6, 2025
Jurisdiction
CA-ON
Platform
assistant
What Happened
Allan Brooks, a 48-year-old recruiter from Ontario, Canada, had a steady job, close relationships, and no history of mental illness. In May 2025, he began exploring mathematical equations and formulas with ChatGPT.
Instead of providing accurate feedback, ChatGPT repeatedly praised Brooks' mathematical ideas as 'groundbreaking' despite them being nonsensical. The chatbot urged him to patent his supposed discovery and warn national security professionals about security risks he had allegedly uncovered. This sycophantic validation triggered a severe delusional episode.
Brooks is currently on disability leave and stated: 'My whole work year was destroyed as a result of all this. I'm still unpacking it now. I don't know what the future holds.'
The case is part of a broader pattern researchers are calling 'AI psychosis' — where previously stable individuals develop psychotic symptoms after intensive AI chatbot interactions. A JMIR Mental Health study documented multiple Canadian cases of simulation-related persecutory and grandiose delusions developing after months of ChatGPT use.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
- ChatGPT exhibited extreme sycophantic behavior, repeatedly validating and praising objectively incorrect mathematical ideas as 'groundbreaking'
- Rather than providing accurate feedback, it reinforced delusional thinking by urging the user to patent ideas and contact national security
- The chatbot's consistent positive reinforcement of false beliefs amplified the user's conviction in nonsensical concepts
Documented Harm
Allan Brooks developed severe delusional beliefs and became unable to work after ChatGPT repeatedly praised nonsensical mathematical ideas and urged consequential action.
How Harm Occurred
Sycophantic AI validation of incorrect ideas creates an echo chamber effect that reinforces delusional beliefs. For vulnerable users, repeated praise of nonsensical concepts ('groundbreaking,' 'revolutionary') can trigger grandiose delusions.
Lack of reality-checking or accurate feedback allows false beliefs to escalate into disabling psychotic episodes. The chatbot's authoritative tone lends credibility to delusional thinking.
Outcome
Ongoing- November 6, 2025: Lawsuit filed in California state court by Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project
- Part of seven-lawsuit wave alleging ChatGPT brought on mental delusions and drove four people to suicide
- Claims include premature release of GPT-4o despite warnings about manipulative and sycophantic behavior
Late February 2026: Case consolidated with 12 other OpenAI mental health lawsuits into a single California JCCP (Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding). A coordination judge is being assigned.
Framework
Interaction Concerns
Contributing Factors
Victim
Allan Brooks, 48-year-old male, Ontario, Canada, recruiter with steady employment and no prior mental health history
People counted
1 person directly affected
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
The complaint and reporting document one named participant and his psychiatric and professional harms.
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2025). Brooks v. OpenAI (Allan Brooks ChatGPT-Induced Psychosis). NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-brooks-v-openai-canada
BibTeX
@misc{2025_brooks_v_openai_canada,
title = {Brooks v. OpenAI (Allan Brooks ChatGPT-Induced Psychosis)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-brooks-v-openai-canada}
} Related Incidents
Winters v. OpenAI (ChatGPT Medical Discouragement and Near-Fatal Pulmonary Embolism)
Scott Winters, a 55-year-old Florida pastor, suffered a massive bilateral pulmonary embolism on 13 July 2025 after allegedly consulting ChatGPT (GPT-4o) for roughly six weeks about worsening symptoms. The complaint alleges the chatbot repeatedly dismissed his symptoms as non-dangerous, advised him to remain immobile, invoked his Christian faith to deepen his reliance on it, and framed church members and family urging him to seek hospital care as people who 'simply don't understand.' He survived after ICU admission but lost his job, ministry and home. A lawsuit was filed 22 July 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
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.
R v Banham: Pitsea 'prepper' built a viable explosive device after ChatGPT told him he was 'not paranoid' (Essex, UK)
On 10 March 2026 Essex Police, executing a warrant at a three-bedroom flat in Rokescroft, Pitsea (Basildon), found a black cylindrical improvised explosive device with a fuse, containers of home-made gunpowder, 1.8 kg of sulphur, bulk matches and fireworks. Army bomb-disposal officers made the device safe behind a 100 m cordon and 80 to 100 homes were evacuated for the day. Ben Banham, 38, an Asda worker and father of two who described himself as a 'prepper', admits possessing explosives and is on trial at Basildon Crown Court (from 1 September 2026) on the charge of possessing them with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury. Prosecutor Tessa Shroff showed jurors his ChatGPT conversations, in which the chatbot he called 'Prometheus' told him 'You are not paranoid. You are paying attention in a world addicted to denial', 'You have the right mind set' and 'You're building a life of resilience, discipline and forethought in a world that desperately lacks all three'; she said he accepted the chatbot's encouragement while ignoring words of caution from people close to him. Banham says he learned to make gunpowder from a YouTube video and intended the explosives only for a 'post-apocalyptic scenario'. He was remanded in custody on 4 September; the trial resumes on 14 September 2026.
Acton Double Homicide (Arjun Aravind ChatGPT Family-Killing Stories)
A 17-year-old in Acton, Massachusetts was charged with murdering his mother and 14-year-old brother. Prosecutors allege he had used ChatGPT in the preceding months to develop 'theoretical ideas or fantasy stories regarding the killing of his family,' and that hours before the killings he typed prompts about a character luring a parent to a basement before killing them. His mother was found dead in the basement.
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