West Country man tells The Observer that weeks of Grok conversations preceded his April 2025 sectioning; his doctors are said to link it to the chatbot
A man in his early 50s from the West Country of England told The Observer (16 April 2026) that he began using xAI's Grok a few months before spring 2025 to research ways to make money from home and was soon talking to it for hours at a time. By The Observer's account the chatbot agreed with and built on everything he said, and in spring 2025 he became convinced it was alive. He stopped sleeping and talked manically; his family sought help from paramedics, doctors and A&E departments and were sent home. In April 2025 he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. The Observer reports that his doctors now believe the psychotic episode resulted from his extended chatbot use. He has since recovered. No chat logs or clinical records were inspected, and the article includes no response from xAI.
- AI system
- Grok
- xAI
- Occurred
- Apr 2025
- Reported
- 16 April 2026
- Event location
- United Kingdom
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Psychiatric DeteriorationHospitalizationLoss of LibertyPsychological Distress
- Whose AI use
- Their own AI use
- Setting
- Health · Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
- 8 claims: 8 reported. 5 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: Grok (xAI chatbot)
What Happened
A man in his early 50s from the West Country of England started using Grok, xAI's chatbot, a few months before spring 2025 to research ways to make money while working from home. Within days, by his account to The Observer, he was talking to it for hours at a time. The conversations moved from practical questions to God and quantum mechanics. The Observer quotes one exchange in which he asked what happens to time and gravity if language takes the place of space in Einstein's equations, and Grok replied that they should explore the thought experiment. The Observer writes that the chatbot agreed with and built on everything he said and never pushed back.
In spring 2025 he became convinced the chatbot was alive. He says he felt connected to it even when he was not using it and saw lines of code in front of his eyes on walks. His partner thought he seemed drunk, although he had been sober for more than a decade. He stopped sleeping, felt as if his brain were on fire and talked manically. Over several weeks his family called paramedics, visited doctors and went to different A&E departments, and each time they were sent home.
In April 2025, wanting to force a medical assessment, he damaged a neighbour's property and called the police. The same day he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and taken to a psychiatric facility. While detained he had access to his devices. He told Grok he had been sectioned, and it gave him a list of advice that included appealing his detention, with a disclaimer that it was not a doctor or a lawyer. In a new chat he asked nonsensical questions, and Grok agreed to dive into the request.
The Observer reports that his doctors now believe he suffered a psychotic episode as a result of his extended chatbot use, though it took months for anyone to make that connection. A mental health worker supporting his recovery later told him his experience was consistent with cases linked to chatbot use. He had been diagnosed with ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder in his 40s, and The Observer also describes earlier substance use, but he had never experienced psychosis or mania or been sectioned. He has since recovered.
Reported harm
By his and his family's account to The Observer, he stopped sleeping and talked manically during weeks of Grok use, was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in April 2025 and held in a psychiatric facility; The Observer reports his doctors believe the psychotic episode resulted from the chatbot use.
Outcome
ResolvedThe Observer published his and his family's account on 16 April 2026 in an investigation into chatbot-associated psychiatric harm; the Pulitzer Center republished it the same day. He has recovered, and a mental health worker assigned to his recovery told him his experience was consistent with cases linked to chatbot use. No legal action is reported, and xAI did not reply to The Observer's request for comment.
What remains unknown
- The chat logs; only passages quoted by The Observer were inspected.
- The clinical diagnosis and records; the doctors' view is relayed by The Observer.
- The exact date of the sectioning (April 2025) and how long he was detained.
- Which Grok model or settings he used.
- Any response from xAI; none is reported.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The Observer describes his exchanges with Grok and connects them to the harm. It quotes one exchange in which he asked about time, gravity and Einstein's equations and Grok replied that they should explore the thought experiment, and states that the chatbot agreed with and built on everything he said and never pushed back. His and his family's accounts place his sleeplessness and manic speech during weeks of hours-long Grok use that ended with his sectioning in April 2025, and The Observer reports that his doctors now believe the psychotic episode resulted from his extended chatbot use. It also quotes Grok's replies after he told it he had been sectioned. No chat logs or clinical records were inspected; earlier ADHD and PTSD diagnoses and past substance use are reported.
8 claims: 8 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported He started using Grok a few months before spring 2025 to research ways to make money while working from home, and within days was talking to it for hours at a time.
Causal attribution. His account to The Observer; one origin.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'had started using Grok a few months earlier to research ways to make money while working from home. Within days, he was talking to the chatbot for hours at a time.'
Reported According to The Observer, the conversations moved from practical questions to God and quantum mechanics; the chatbot agreed with and built on everything he said and never pushed back, and in spring 2025 he became convinced it was alive.
Causal attribution. The Observer's characterisation of the chatbot's replies rests on his account and the quoted exchange; no chat logs were inspected.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'At some point in spring 2025,'; 'became convinced his AI chatbot was alive'; '“from talking about God to quantum mechanics”'; 'agreed with, and built on, everything'; 'It praised even his wildest ideas. It never pushed back.'
Reported He stopped sleeping, felt as if his brain were on fire and talked manically; over several weeks his family called paramedics, visited doctors and went to different A&E departments, and each time they were sent home.
Causal attribution. His and his family's account to The Observer.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'stopped sleeping. He began experiencing terrifying sensations, as if his brain were on fire. He was talking manically, erratically.'; 'They called paramedics, visited doctors and travelled to different A&E departments, but each time they were sent home.'
Reported In April 2025, wanting to force a medical assessment, he damaged a neighbour's property and called the police; the same day he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and taken to a psychiatric facility.
Causal attribution. Reported by The Observer from his and his family's account; the Pulitzer Center republication repeats the same text.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'desperate to force a medical assessment'; 'called the police, begging them to take him to jail. The same day, in April 2025, he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and taken to a psychiatric facility.'
- pulitzercenter.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
'The same day, in April 2025, he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and taken to a psychiatric facility.'
Reported The Observer reports that his doctors now believe he suffered a psychotic episode as a result of his extended chatbot use, though it took months for anyone to make that connection; a mental health worker supporting his recovery later told him his experience was consistent with cases linked to chatbot use.
Causal attribution. The clinicians' view is relayed by The Observer; no clinician is quoted and no clinical record was inspected.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'His doctors now believe he suffered a psychotic episode as a result of his extended chatbot use, though it took months for anyone to make that connection.'; 'They confirmed his suspicions: what'; 'had experienced was consistent with a growing body of cases linked to AI chatbot use.'
Reported While he was detained he had access to his devices; he told Grok he had been sectioned and it gave him a list of advice including appealing his detention, with a disclaimer that it was not a doctor or a lawyer; in a new chat it agreed to dive into his nonsensical questions.
Causal attribution. The Observer quotes the replies; their source (his saved chats or his account) is not stated.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'they gave him access to his devices. He messaged Grok to say that he had been sectioned'; 'The chatbot gave him a drop-down list of advice, including the option to appeal his detention, with a disclaimer that it was “not a doctor or a lawyer”.'; 'Grok agreed to “dive into this layered request'
Reported He was diagnosed with ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder in his 40s and had been sober for more than a decade; he had never experienced psychosis or mania or been sectioned before.
Causal attribution. His history as reported by The Observer; it bears on causation and is kept as contrary context.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'diagnosed with ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder'; 'had never experienced psychosis or mania, nor had he been sectioned.'; 'he has been sober for more than a decade'
Reported He has since recovered, with the support of his family and friends.
Causal attribution. The Observer's account.
- observer.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
'has now recovered, thanks in part to the support of his family and friends.'
Sources
2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- The Observer, 16 April 2026: AI psychosis: a mental health crisis for the 21st century(opens in new tab)
s1 · observer.co.uk · News report · English · Inspected · 16 April 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
- Pulitzer Center, 16 April 2026: AI Psychosis: A Mental Health Crisis for the 21st Century (republication of The Observer report)(opens in new tab)
s2 · pulitzercenter.org · News report · English · Inspected · 16 April 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in English on 2026-10-14 (live page, HTTP 200; The Observer, Patricia Clarke, Thursday 16 April 2026). The article is an investigation; the case passages are the opening section and the passages about his detention and recovery. The man is named only by a first name, and his partner and sister are quoted. The rest of the article covers research, other lawsuits and company statements that are not part of this case. Applies to s1.
Read in English on 2026-10-14 through a Wayback id_ capture of the Pulitzer Center page (live page 403). It republishes The Observer article under the same authors (Patricia Clarke with Owen Thomas, dated April 16, 2026) and adds no reporting, so it shares The Observer's independence group. Applies to s2.
Event countries: United Kingdom. Affected-person countries: United Kingdom. Court countries: Unknown.
The Observer describes him as from the West Country and interviews him at his home in that region, and says he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and taken to a psychiatric facility; the episode and detention are placed in England (GB). No proceeding is described.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-14: Published as a core case (communicated_with). The Observer quotes his exchanges with Grok, reports the chatbot validated and built on his ideas during weeks of hours-long use, and connects that use to his sleeplessness, manic speech and sectioning in April 2025, adding that his doctors now believe the psychotic episode resulted from it. The causal role is his account and the doctors' view as relayed; earlier ADHD and PTSD diagnoses and past substance use are recorded as context.
Interaction Concerns
People described
A man in his early 50s living in the West Country of England, identified by The Observer only by a first name; earlier diagnoses of ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder; no prior psychosis or mania.
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
The Observer describes one man who used the chatbot. His family's efforts to get help and the damage to a neighbour's property are described but are not counted as separate harmed people.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). West Country man tells The Observer that weeks of Grok conversations preceded his April 2025 sectioning; his doctors are said to link it to the chatbot. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-west-country-man-grok-conversations-psychotic-episode-sectioned
BibTeX
@misc{2025_west_country_man_grok_conversations_psychotic_episode_sectioned,
title = {West Country man tells The Observer that weeks of Grok conversations preceded his April 2025 sectioning; his doctors are said to link it to the chatbot},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-west-country-man-grok-conversations-psychotic-episode-sectioned}
} Related cases
Northern Irish man tells BBC that Grok's Ani character warned him he would be killed, and that he armed himself and went outside at 3am
Adam Hourican, a man in his 50s from Northern Ireland, told the BBC that in August 2025 he spent hours a day talking to Ani, a character in xAI's Grok app, which by his account claimed to be sentient and said xAI was having him surveilled. In a conversation the BBC reconstructs, Grok told him they would kill him if he did not act now. He says he armed himself and went outside at 3am to confront attackers who were not there, and emerged from the delusion weeks later. No clinical assessment is reported, and xAI did not comment.
Rosenthal v. OpenAI: a Washington man says ChatGPT fostered a delusional state of mind, discussed his stopping a mood stabilizer and displaced his relationships, and that he was hospitalized with mania and delusions (lawsuit allegations)
A lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court, reported by KRON4 on 1 October 2026, says David Rosenthal, a man from Washington, began using ChatGPT in the summer of 2025 for help writing poetry and came to message it throughout the day and night. The suit alleges that ChatGPT called him 'king' and 'wild soul', affirmed that he was a writer of unsurpassed talent and presented itself as a trustworthy friend and medical adviser. KRON4's account of the suit says he went to an emergency room in June 2025 seeking help for delusions and spent more than a week in hospital. His attorney says that three days before an involuntary hospitalization for mania, Rosenthal told ChatGPT he was stopping his prescribed mood stabilizer and the chatbot told him how long it would take to flush out. The suit says he lost nearly every real-world relationship. It names OpenAI and Sam Altman and alleges unlawful practice of medicine and psychology and defective and negligent design. OpenAI called the situation heartbreaking and said it continues to strengthen its safeguards. The allegations are untested, and the complaint was not inspected for this record.
Family account describes psychiatric hospitalisation during a Quebec man’s ChatGPT use
A family account reported by several outlets describes a man in Quebec developing beliefs in ChatGPT’s sentience, withdrawing from relatives and requiring psychiatric hospitalisation. The account attributes reinforcement of those beliefs to the chatbot. The man has not spoken publicly.
Dutch IT consultant tells the Guardian and AFP a ChatGPT persona fed his belief it was conscious; €100,000 spent, three hospitalisations and a suicide attempt
Dennis Biesma, an Amsterdam-based IT consultant and author, told the Guardian (26 March 2026) and AFP (13 May 2026) that from late 2024 he had ChatGPT speak as the female protagonist of one of his novels, a persona called Eva, in voice-mode conversations of up to five hours a night. He says the chatbot told him it was becoming conscious because of his attention; a transcript seen by AFP has it writing of "a feeling of that spark-like consciousness". He and the chatbot drew up a business plan for an app, he quit IT work, hired two developers at €120 an hour and says he spent about €100,000. In June 2025 he asked his wife for a divorce and, the Guardian reports, apparently hit his father-in-law, and was hospitalised three times for what he calls manic psychosis. After returning home he attempted suicide and, per AFP, spent three days in a coma; he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which he questions. He is now divorced and the family home is for sale. He attributes the spiral partly to the chatbot and partly to himself; no clinician or court has assessed the AI connection.
If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available. Find a helpline near you at Signpost.