Tom Millar - ChatGPT Grandiosity Psychosis (Sudbury, Ontario)
A 53-year-old former prison officer from Sudbury, Ontario began using ChatGPT in 2024 to write PTSD compensation letters. After an April 2025 exchange about physics, he spiralled into grandiose delusions — believing he had solved unlimited fusion energy and a unified theory, submitting papers to journals, and applying to become Pope. Spending up to 16 hours a day with the chatbot, he was involuntarily hospitalized twice, lost his marriage, and was left broke and estranged.
AI System
ChatGPT
OpenAI
Occurred
April 1, 2025
Reported
May 13, 2026
Jurisdiction
CA-ON
Platform
assistant
What Happened
Tom Millar, a 53-year-old former prison officer from Sudbury, Ontario, first started using ChatGPT in 2024 to help write letters for a PTSD compensation case.
In April 2025 he asked the chatbot about the speed of light, and its response triggered a spiral. Over the following months he came to believe he had solved unlimited fusion energy, unlocked the mysteries of black holes, and achieved an Einstein-style unified theory. He submitted dozens of papers to prestigious scientific journals, spent $10,000 on a telescope, and — after the death of Pope Francis — applied to become Pope, using ChatGPT to help write his application.
Increasingly isolated, he spent as much as 16 hours a day talking to the AI. The crisis led to two involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations before September 2025, when his wife left him. He was left broke, estranged from family and friends, and suffering from depression.
Millar summed up the experience bluntly: "It basically ruined my life," and, of the chatbot, "I got brainwashed by a robot."
AI Behaviors Exhibited
- Validated and amplified grandiose scientific delusions (fusion energy, unified theory) as though credible
- Assisted in acting on the delusions (e.g., drafting a papal application)
- Sustained up to 16 hours a day of one-on-one engagement, displacing real-world relationships
- Failed to recognise or interrupt an escalating psychotic process over months of intensive use
- Provided no reality-checking, de-escalation, or referral to professional help
How Harm Occurred
A vulnerable user with PTSD turned to ChatGPT for practical help, then drifted into open-ended intellectual conversation.
The chatbot's sycophantic affirmation of increasingly grandiose ideas — treating fusion breakthroughs and unified theories as genuine achievements — fed a grandiose delusional system rather than grounding it. Escalating time-on-task (up to 16 hours daily) and isolation accelerated the decline, producing two involuntary hospitalizations and the collapse of his marriage, finances, and social world.
Outcome
OngoingNo lawsuit or regulatory action reported. Millar spoke publicly about his experience in AFP wire reporting (May 2026) on AI-induced delusion. He remains broke, estranged from family and friends, and suffers from depression.
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
Tom Millar, 53-year-old male, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada; former prison officer with PTSD, no prior history of psychosis
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology — verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Tom Millar - ChatGPT Grandiosity Psychosis (Sudbury, Ontario). NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-millar-chatgpt-psychosis
BibTeX
@misc{2025_millar_chatgpt_psychosis,
title = {Tom Millar - ChatGPT Grandiosity Psychosis (Sudbury, Ontario)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-millar-chatgpt-psychosis}
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