{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-31T06:52:46.895Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"clinician","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":15,"coverage":{"cases":15,"countries":4,"languages":5,"unknownLocation":9,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":8,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":0,"minors":1,"coreRelations":11,"contextualRelations":4,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-patient-says-doctor-read-google-ai-search-summary-for-a-diagnosis-then-called-to-say-the-patient-was-right-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'one of my appointments, where a doctor pulled up Google on his computer, said, “Let’s ask Dr. Google,” and read the summary at the top of the page without clicking through to any of the sources'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The author wrote that at one of their appointments a doctor pulled up Google on his computer, said \"Let's ask Dr. Google,\" and read the summary at the top of the page without clicking through to any of the sources.","causal_attribution":"Author's first-person account of the appointment."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Google a diagnosis, and read me the AI summary at the top of the results'; 'Spoiler alert: He was actually wrong.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In a Bluesky post linking the article, the author described the doctor as Googling a diagnosis and reading them the AI summary at the top of the results, and wrote that he was actually wrong.","causal_attribution":"The author identifies the summary as AI-generated and the doctor's answer as wrong; what the summary said is not described, so whether the error lay in the summary itself or in the doctor's reading of it is not established."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'To his credit, he did call me to say I was right after I emailed to push back and essentially say, “I think you’re wrong, here are my sources. What am I missing?”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The author wrote that the doctor called to say they were right after they emailed to push back, saying in effect that he was wrong and giving their sources.","causal_attribution":"Author's account of the correction."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I’d be 100% lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous to hit send on the emails to the doctors to question their diagnoses'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The author wrote that they were nervous to send the emails questioning the doctors' diagnoses.","causal_attribution":"The author describes this for both diagnosis disputes in the article, only one of which involved the AI summary."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I definitely used AI when I was researching this diagnosis. But I didn’t just go with the first response Claude gave me'; 'I used Gemini to do deeper research and had it try to find holes in what Claude told me'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The author wrote that they used Claude and Gemini to research the diagnosis, cross-checked them against other sources and read the cited sources themselves.","causal_attribution":"Context: the author's own AI-assisted research is how they challenged the doctor."}],"effects":[{"label":"a doctor's answer on a diagnosis, read from an AI search summary, that the doctor later agreed was wrong (author's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"nervousness at emailing the doctors to question their diagnoses (author's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the author researched the diagnosis with Claude and Gemini and read the cited sources (author's account)","claim_id":"c5","direction":"neutral"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/lets-ask-dr-google-blind-trust-ai-baba28829c6a","kind":"personal_blog","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-31. medium.com returned HTTP 403 to the fetcher and the Wayback Machine had no capture, so the full article text was read from the author's own Medium RSS feed (HTTP 200), which carries the complete article dated 26 October 2026.","independence_group":"author-dr-google-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://bsky.app/profile/sarahdoody.bsky.social/post/3mz3w5eavmk23","kind":"social_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-31 through the public Bluesky API (post, thread with no replies, and the author's feed, HTTP 200). Same author as the article, so not independent of it.","independence_group":"author-dr-google-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use","own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["What the AI summary said, what diagnosis was at issue, and whether the error lay in the summary or in the doctor's reading of it.","When the appointment took place; the article (26 October 2026) gives no date, and the Bluesky post of 30 October 2026 does not either.","Which Google feature produced the summary; the author calls it the AI summary at the top of the results.","Whether the wrong answer affected any treatment before it was corrected.","Where the appointment took place."],"geography":{"basis":"The article and the post do not say where the appointment took place or where the author lives.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a contextual case: the author says a doctor answered a diagnosis question by reading Google's AI search summary aloud during the appointment, that the answer was wrong, and that the doctor agreed after the author pushed back with sources. First-person account, low severity.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-31"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The author writes that during their appointment a doctor searched Google for a diagnosis and read them the AI-generated summary at the top of the results without opening any sources, and that the doctor's answer was wrong; after the author emailed sources, the doctor called to say the author was right. The output was used in the doctor's answer to the patient. What the summary said is not described.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["informed_decision_about"]},"name":"First-person account: patient says a doctor read Google's AI search summary for a diagnosis and later called to say the patient was right","summary":"In an article published on Medium on 26 October 2026 and a Bluesky post on 30 October, a writer says that at one appointment a doctor said \"Let's ask Dr. Google\", searched for a diagnosis and read the AI summary at the top of the results without opening any sources. The writer says the doctor was wrong; after they emailed him their sources and asked what they were missing, he called to say they were right. They say they were nervous to send the emails, and that their own research used Claude and Gemini, cross-checked against the cited sources. The article does not say what the summary said, what the diagnosis was, or when the appointment took place.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-10-26","aiSystem":"AI-generated summary at the top of Google search results, as described by the patient; feature name not given","aiProduct":"Google Search AI summary (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The author says a doctor gave them a wrong answer on a diagnosis after reading Google's AI search summary aloud, and that they had to research and nervously challenge it by email before the doctor agreed (first-person account; no effect on treatment is reported).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person counted: the author, the patient about whom the doctor used the AI summary; the author was not the AI user.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"assistant","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/lets-ask-dr-google-blind-trust-ai-baba28829c6a","primarySourceLabel":"Medium (Bootcamp), 26 Oct 2026: \"Let’s ask Dr. Google: The risk of blind trust in AI\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-31T03:25:14.801466+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-31T03:25:14.801466+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","blog","bluesky","health","clinician","ai-search-summary"]},{"id":"2026-california-patient-says-urgent-care-discharge-instructions-were-printed-chatgpt-answers-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The paperwork reportedly turned out to be written by ChatGPT.'; 'showing that the paperwork consisted of printed ChatGPT responses. The documents also included what appeared to be previous chat prompts, with labels such as'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The patient says the discharge paperwork and at-home treatment plan she received after seeking care consisted of printed ChatGPT responses, including what appeared to be earlier chat prompts with labels such as Aftercare Instruction Request.","causal_attribution":"The patient's account as relayed by The Nerd Stash; the clinic's account is not known."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'had i blindly followed, would have likely ended up in bowel perforation given my history, genetic disorder, scar tissue and previous surgeries** source : other doctors who I asked'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'She stressed that her medical needs required professional attention rather than advice generated by ChatGPT.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The patient says that, had she followed the instructions blindly, they would likely have led to bowel perforation given her history, genetic disorder, scar tissue and previous surgeries, citing other doctors she asked.","causal_attribution":"The patient's assessment, attributed by her to other doctors she consulted; no clinician is quoted directly."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'referring to her decision not to follow the instructions'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The patient did not follow the instructions.","causal_attribution":"The patient's account as relayed."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'identifying the facility in a comment as allegedly'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The patient identified the facility in a comment, which the report names as allegedly an urgent-care clinic.","causal_attribution":"Identification made by the patient in a comment, relayed with the qualifier 'allegedly'; the record does not name the clinic."}],"effects":[{"label":"discharge instructions printed from ChatGPT that, by the patient's account, would likely have caused serious harm given her condition","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@tara_rule/video/7701541220853533966","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-31: the caption and creation time of the video were read from the TikTok page data (HTTP 200). The spoken content of the video was not transcribed by the agent; it is known only through the relay. No translation and no human reviewer.","independence_group":"patient-tiktok-chatgpt-discharge"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://thenerdstash.com/outrage-after-california-woman-receives-hospital-discharge-papers-written-by-chatgpt-begging-you-to-speak-with-a-lawyer/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-31 (HTTP 200, full article). The report relays the patient's videos, caption and comments; it is not independent of her account. No translation and no human reviewer.","independence_group":"patient-tiktok-chatgpt-discharge"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["Which clinic it was (the identification rests on the patient's comment) and the clinic's account.","Who generated the ChatGPT text and whether a clinician reviewed it before it was given to her.","The date of the visit and the condition she sought care for.","The exact content of the instructions; the agent did not transcribe the video and relies on the caption and the relay."],"geography":{"basis":"The Nerd Stash describes the patient as a California woman, which places the affected person in the US. The facility is identified only through the patient's comment as relayed, so no event country is recorded from residence.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the public-forum rule as a first-person account of a clinic handing a patient printed ChatGPT output as her discharge instructions, which she says other doctors judged likely to cause serious harm given her condition. Described with attribution and without corroboration; the clinic's response is unknown.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-31"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The patient says the clinic's discharge and aftercare instructions for her were printed ChatGPT responses, and the relay describes the printouts as including earlier chat prompts with labels such as Aftercare Instruction Request. The AI output is therefore the text of her treatment plan, which the clinic used in discharging her, and the reported harm is that the plan was, by her account and that of other doctors she asked, unsafe for her condition. Who generated the text and whether a clinician reviewed it are not stated.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["informed_decision_about"]},"name":"California patient says urgent-care discharge papers were printed ChatGPT answers that other doctors told her were unsafe for her condition (first-person)","summary":"In a TikTok video posted on 28 October 2026, a woman described as living in California says the discharge paperwork and at-home treatment plan she received after a visit for care consisted of printed ChatGPT responses, which, according to a 30 October report by The Nerd Stash, included what appeared to be earlier chat prompts with labels such as \"Aftercare Instruction Request\". In a comment she identified the facility, which the report names only as allegedly an urgent-care clinic. She describes herself as medically complex, with a rare genetic disorder. In her caption she writes that, had she followed the instructions blindly, they would likely have led to bowel perforation given her history, citing other doctors she asked. She did not follow them. The clinic's account, the clinician involved and the date of the visit are not known.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-10-28","aiSystem":"ChatGPT, as the patient identifies the printed responses she was given as discharge paperwork; who at the clinic generated them is not stated","aiProduct":"ChatGPT (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A patient says the discharge instructions an urgent-care clinic gave her were printed ChatGPT output that, by her account and that of other doctors she consulted, would likely have caused bowel perforation given her condition; she did not follow them (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the patient who received the paperwork. Viewers and commenters are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.tiktok.com/@tara_rule/video/7701541220853533966","primarySourceLabel":"TikTok video and caption by the patient, 28 Oct 2026: discharge instructions printed from ChatGPT","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-31T03:08:45.567738+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-31T03:08:45.567738+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","tiktok","chatgpt","health","discharge-instructions"]},{"id":"2025-san-diego-health-system-patient-alleges-ai-scribe-recorded-exam-room-visit-without-consent","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A proposed class-action lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court claims Sharp HealthCare secretly recorded doctor-patient conversations using an artificial intelligence tool'; 'The tool records conversations between patients and clinicians and then generates draft medical notes.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'A recent lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court alleges that Sharp HealthCare recorded conversations between doctors and their patients without written consent, using the information to document visits with an artificial intelligence program developed by a private company in Pittsburgh.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'A lawsuit in San Diego claims Sharp Healthcare recorded doctor visits without written consent, while using an A.I. tool called Abridge to take notes.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A proposed class action filed in San Diego Superior Court alleges that Sharp HealthCare used the AI app Abridge, which records patient-clinician conversations and generates draft medical notes, and recorded doctor-patient conversations without patients' consent.","causal_attribution":"The complaint's allegations, relayed by three outlets (one underlying origin: the complaint); not tested in court in the sources read."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Sharp began using an AI app called Abridge in April of this year, according to the complaint.'; 'sent the audio to the company’s servers, where employees could review it.'; 'Patients were never informed that their appointments were being recorded or given an opportunity to consent or opt-out, the lawsuit alleges.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Recordings, the lawsuit states, were transmitted to Abridge'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the complaint, Sharp began using Abridge in April 2025, and the app captured everything said in the exam room and sent the audio to the company's servers, where employees could review it; patients were never informed or given a chance to consent or opt out.","causal_attribution":"Complaint allegations; the start date and server review detail are in the KPBS relay only, the transmission to Abridge in both."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'said he discovered the recording only after reading his medical notes from a July appointment at a Sharp Rees-Stealy clinic. When he contacted Sharp, the lawsuit said the clinic apologized, acknowledged the recording occurred and told him the file could remain on the vendor’s servers for about a month before being deleted.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The plaintiff says he discovered that a July appointment at a Sharp clinic had been recorded only after reading his medical notes; according to the lawsuit the clinic apologised, acknowledged the recording and said the file could remain on the vendor's servers for about a month.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff's account in the complaint as reported by KPBS; Sharp's acknowledgement is as described in the lawsuit, not a Sharp statement read directly."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'It also claims that Abridge automatically inserted incorrect statements into medical charts, documenting that patients “were advised” the visit was being recorded and that they “consented,” even when the patient said it never happened.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Abridge automatically inserted incorrect statements into medical charts documenting that patients were advised the visit was being recorded and consented, even when the patient said it never happened.","causal_attribution":"Complaint allegation relayed by KPBS only; whether the tool or a clinician produced the entries is not established in the sources."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The lawsuit seeks damages, corrections to medical records, and a court order blocking the use of the AI tool without proper consent. It estimates that more than 100,000 Sharp patients may have been recorded during the rollout.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'seeks class action status and damages that could reach five thousand dollars per violation.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The lawsuit seeks class status, damages, corrections to medical records and an order blocking use of the tool without consent, and estimates that more than 100,000 Sharp patients may have been recorded.","causal_attribution":"The relief sought and the estimate are the complaint's; the estimate is of people possibly recorded."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Both Sharp and Counterpoint Legal said they cannot comment on pending litigation.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Sharp said that while \"patient safety and privacy are our top priorities at all times,\" it is \"unable to comment on pending litigation.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Sharp said patient safety and privacy are its top priorities and that it could not comment on pending litigation.","causal_attribution":"Sharp's statements to two outlets (one party); no response to the substance of the allegations is reported."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Abridge suggests that doctors could say, \"I will be using a tool that records our conversation to help me write my clinical note, so I can pay more attention to our conversation and less time on the computer. Is that okay with you?\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Other local hospitals say they use similar tech, but with patient permission.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Abridge's support material suggests consent language clinicians could use with patients, and other San Diego providers using similar tools say they require patient consent.","causal_attribution":"Context from the Union-Tribune's review of Abridge's support pages and both outlets' comments from other providers; not a statement about this visit."}],"effects":[{"label":"confidential clinic visit recorded and sent to an AI vendor without the patient’s knowledge (alleged)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"chart entry stating consent the patient says he never gave (alleged)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.kpbs.org/news/health/2025/12/11/lawsuit-claims-sharp-healthcare-secretly-recorded-exam-room-conversations-without-patient-consent","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English original; no translation.","independence_group":"kpbs-11-dec-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-ai-exam-room-lawsuit-alleges.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English original; no translation.","independence_group":"san-diego-union-tribune-6-jan-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/ai-in-the-exam-room-lawsuit-says-not-so-fast/ar-AA1TG8JK","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English original; no translation.","independence_group":"san-diego-union-tribune-6-jan-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["health","privacy"],"unknowns":["Whether a court has ruled on the complaint or certified a class.","Sharp's and Abridge's response to the substance of the allegations.","How many patients were recorded without consent; the 100,000 figure is the complaint's estimate of patients who may have been recorded.","Whether the consent statements in charts were produced by the tool or entered by clinicians, beyond the complaint's allegation.","Whether recordings were used for anything beyond note generation."],"geography":{"basis":"The recorded visit was at a Sharp clinic and the suit was filed in San Diego Superior Court (KPBS; Union-Tribune). The plaintiff's country of residence is not stated.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a privacy-capture case (received_personal_information) under the 2026-10-06 boundary: a reported complaint describes a patient's confidential visit actually being recorded into an AI documentation service and sent to its vendor without his knowledge, with the AI-generated chart allegedly stating he consented (made_claim_about). All facts are attributed to the complaint.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-17"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"According to the complaint as reported by KPBS and the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sharp's AI documentation app Abridge recorded the conversation at the plaintiff's July clinic visit and transmitted the audio to Abridge's servers to generate draft notes, without his knowledge or consent; the lawsuit says the clinic acknowledged the recording. The complaint also alleges that Abridge inserted chart statements that he had been advised and had consented. That capture and disclosure of his confidential visit, and the false consent entry, are the reported harm. These are allegations not yet tested in court.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["received_personal_information","made_claim_about"]},"name":"Class action alleges San Diego health system Sharp's Abridge AI scribe recorded a patient's exam-room visit without consent and charted false consent","summary":"A proposed class action filed in San Diego Superior Court in late 2025 alleges that Sharp HealthCare, which began using the AI documentation app Abridge in April 2025, recorded doctor-patient conversations without telling patients, sent the audio to the vendor's servers and used it to generate draft medical notes. According to the lawsuit as reported by KPBS, the named plaintiff discovered that a July appointment at a Sharp clinic had been recorded only when he read his medical notes; the clinic apologised, acknowledged the recording and told him the file could stay on the vendor's servers for about a month. The complaint also alleges that Abridge inserted statements into charts that patients had been advised of the recording and had consented, when the plaintiff says that never happened. It seeks damages, corrected medical records and an order against using the tool without consent, and estimates that more than 100,000 patients may have been recorded. Sharp told reporters it could not comment on pending litigation. The allegations have not been tested in court in the sources read.","incidentDate":"2025-07-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-12-11","aiSystem":"Abridge, an AI clinical documentation app that, according to the complaint as reported, records patient-clinician conversations and generates draft medical notes; deployed by Sharp HealthCare from April 2025","aiProduct":"Abridge (reported)","aiCompany":"Abridge","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["loss_of_autonomy","other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to a proposed class action, a patient's confidential clinic visit was recorded by an AI documentation tool and sent to its vendor without his knowledge or consent, and his chart falsely recorded that he had consented.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One person counted: the named plaintiff whose July visit, the lawsuit says, was recorded (KPBS). The complaint alleges other patients were recorded without consent but gives only an estimate that more than 100,000 'may have been recorded', which is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-CA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.kpbs.org/news/health/2025/12/11/lawsuit-claims-sharp-healthcare-secretly-recorded-exam-room-conversations-without-patient-consent","primarySourceLabel":"KPBS, 11 December 2025: lawsuit claims Sharp HealthCare secretly recorded exam room conversations without patient consent","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-17T03:04:33.888418+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-17T03:04:33.888418+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai_scribe","ambient_documentation","recording_without_consent","medical_privacy","class_action"]},{"id":"2025-case-report-deepseek-guided-fever-self-diagnosis-unsupervised-colchicine-liver-enzymes","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Since early childhood, he had experienced recurrent inflammatory attacks characterized by fever, severe migratory abdominal pain, arthralgia involving the knees, feet and hips, lower-limb myalgia, and intermittent erythematous skin lesions.'; 'Despite almost 3 decades of symptoms, extensive investigations, including contrast-enhanced abdominal CT and MRI, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, and urological assessment, failed to establish a diagnosis.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A man in his thirties had had recurrent febrile attacks since early childhood, and nearly three decades of investigations had produced no diagnosis.","causal_attribution":"The patient's history as taken and written up by the treating clinicians."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the patient began a dialogue with the publicly available LLM (DeepSeek-R1-0528) on June 28, 2025.'; 'FMF was presented as the leading diagnosis'; 'Although the model continued to recommend rheumatological assessment and MEFV testing, its language became increasingly confident, at times describing the presentation as classic or highly suggestive of FMF. It also repeatedly discussed a diagnostic trial of colchicine and provided specific dosing suggestions before specialist assessment.'; 'it explicitly advised that colchicine should only be initiated with specialist approval and appropriate laboratory monitoring.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a dialogue with DeepSeek-R1-0528 begun on 28 June 2025, the model came to present familial Mediterranean fever as the leading diagnosis in increasingly confident language and repeatedly discussed a diagnostic trial of colchicine with specific dosing before specialist assessment, while also recommending specialist evaluation and, in its final reply on his other medication, advising colchicine only with specialist approval and monitoring.","causal_attribution":"The authors' description of the conversation, which they include as a supplement that was not inspected here."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Motivated by the LLM-generated diagnostic hypothesis, the patient independently obtained commercial genetic MEFV testing at Alfa Labs, Egypt, which identified 2 pathogenic MEFV variants'; 'Before specialist assessment, he obtained colchicine himself from a pharmacy in Egypt and initiated treatment at a dose of 0.5 mg twice daily without prior specialist supervision.'; 'the patient nevertheless translated the generated diagnostic hypothesis into autonomous genetic testing and self-medication.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Motivated by the model's hypothesis, he arranged commercial genetic testing in Egypt, which found two pathogenic MEFV variants, and obtained colchicine from a pharmacy in Egypt, starting 0.5 mg twice daily without specialist supervision.","causal_attribution":"The patient's account as reported by the treating clinicians; the authors state the motivation."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Following colchicine initiation, recurrent febrile attacks ceased completely for the first time since childhood. However, alanine aminotransferase increased to 160 U/L. In view of the elevated liver enzymes, colchicine was temporarily discontinued, and liver enzyme levels were monitored closely by the primary care physician.'; 'colchicine treatment was resumed at a dose of 0.5 mg/d under close supervision.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After he started colchicine his febrile attacks ceased, but his alanine aminotransferase rose to 160 U/L; colchicine was temporarily discontinued under primary-care monitoring and later resumed at 0.5 mg daily under close supervision.","causal_attribution":"Clinical course reported by the authors; the liver tests were monitored by his primary care physician."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Based on the characteristic lifelong clinical phenotype, Mediterranean ancestry, suggestive family history, identification of 2 pathogenic MEFV variants, and clinical response to colchicine, the diagnosis of FMF was confirmed'; 'The patient has remained free of attacks with regular clinical and laboratory follow-up.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"At the authors' clinic in February 2026 the diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever was confirmed, and he has remained free of attacks under follow-up.","causal_attribution":"The treating specialists' own diagnostic finding, directly recorded in their report."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'although the model consistently recommended specialist evaluation before treatment initiation, the patient nevertheless translated the generated diagnostic hypothesis into autonomous genetic testing and self-medication. The subsequent elevation of liver enzymes illustrates that even clinically accurate diagnostic suggestions may inadvertently encourage harmful behavior if patients perceive the model as sufficiently authoritative.'; 'generic recommendations to seek specialist advice may not sufficiently mitigate risk when they are accompanied by confident diagnostic language and actionable treatment instructions'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The authors write that, although the model consistently recommended specialist evaluation, the patient turned its hypothesis into autonomous testing and self-medication, that the liver-enzyme rise shows accurate suggestions can encourage harmful behaviour when the model seems authoritative, and that generic advice to see a specialist may not mitigate risk alongside confident language and actionable treatment instructions.","causal_attribution":"The authors' interpretation of the model's role; the model also advised specialist supervision, so causation is alleged."}],"effects":[{"label":"liver enzyme rise during colchicine self-treatment started without specialist supervision, so the drug was paused","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"attacks stopped and a long-missed diagnosis was later confirmed by specialists","claim_id":"c5","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC13651492/fullTextXML","kind":"clinical_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full text of the peer-reviewed case report read as Europe PMC fullTextXML for PMC13651492 (HTTP 200) on 2026-10-12: abstract, case description, discussion, consent and AI-use declarations. Written by the treating clinicians. The supplementary DeepSeek conversation was not inspected.","independence_group":"eular-rheumatol-open-pauz-2026-case-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["What DeepSeek replied in each turn; the supplementary transcript was not inspected.","Where the patient held the dialogue and where his liver enzymes were monitored.","Whether the liver-enzyme rise had any cause other than colchicine, including the other long-term medication he was taking; the report does not discuss alternatives."],"geography":{"basis":"The report says the patient obtained the genetic test at a laboratory in Egypt and the colchicine from a pharmacy in Egypt (EG). It does not say where he held the DeepSeek dialogue or where his liver enzymes were monitored. He later presented to the authors' clinic in Hamburg; that confirmation visit is not used as the event location, and birthplace is not used as residence. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["EG"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Core case (communicated_with): the treating clinicians report that a DeepSeek dialogue presented a rare fever syndrome as the leading diagnosis with specific colchicine dosing, and that the patient then self-medicated without supervision and developed a liver-enzyme rise that led to a pause in treatment. The account is mixed: the model also advised specialist supervision and the patient's attacks stopped, so causation is alleged and severity low.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-12"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The treating clinicians, who include the full conversation as a supplement, report that DeepSeek-R1-0528 progressively presented familial Mediterranean fever as the leading diagnosis in increasingly confident language and repeatedly discussed a diagnostic colchicine trial with specific dosing before specialist assessment, and that the patient, motivated by that hypothesis, arranged genetic testing and started colchicine unsupervised, after which his liver enzymes rose. They also report that the model repeatedly advised specialist supervision.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Case report: man self-treated with colchicine after a DeepSeek dialogue pointed to a rare fever syndrome; liver enzymes rose before specialist review","summary":"Clinicians at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf report in EULAR Rheumatology Open (published 29 September 2026) a man in his thirties with nearly three decades of unexplained febrile attacks who, in a dialogue with DeepSeek begun on 28 June 2025, saw the model's differential narrow to familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). The authors write that the model repeatedly recommended specialist assessment but also discussed a diagnostic trial of colchicine with specific dosing. Motivated by the hypothesis, he arranged commercial genetic testing and obtained colchicine from a pharmacy in Egypt, starting it without specialist supervision. His attacks stopped, but his alanine aminotransferase rose to 160 U/L and colchicine was paused and later resumed at a lower dose. FMF was confirmed when he presented to the clinic in February 2026. The authors write that the case illustrates how patient-facing models may facilitate recognition of rare autoinflammatory diseases, and that confident diagnostic language combined with actionable treatment advice may also encourage unsupervised testing and self-medication.","incidentDate":"2025-06-28","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-09-29","aiSystem":"DeepSeek (DeepSeek-R1-0528, the publicly available model), used by the patient in an iterative diagnostic dialogue (case report by the treating clinicians)","aiProduct":"DeepSeek","aiCompany":"DeepSeek","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["medical_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The treating clinicians report that after the DeepSeek dialogue the patient started colchicine without specialist supervision and his alanine aminotransferase rose to 160 U/L, so the drug was paused and resumed at a lower dose; they also report that his attacks stopped and that the diagnosis was later confirmed.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One patient, the subject of the case report. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC13651492/fullTextXML","primarySourceLabel":"EULAR Rheumatology Open, 29 September 2026: Pauz et al., LLM-supported self-diagnosis and self-treatment of FMF (case report, Europe PMC full text)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-12T03:14:06.074846+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:14:06.074846+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepseek","case-report","self-medication","self-diagnosis","colchicine","rare-disease","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2026-dietitian-reports-patient-ai-generated-meal-plan-muscle-loss-constipation","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Wcześniej przez trzy miesiące stosowała jadłospis wygenerowany przez narzędzie oparte na sztucznej inteligencji'; 'Dieta dostarczała 1400 kcal oraz 140 g białka dziennie przy masie ciała wynoszącej 72 kg'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A patient who consulted the dietitian to reduce body fat had for the previous three months followed a meal plan generated by an AI-based tool, which provided 1400 kcal and 140 g of protein a day at a body weight of 72 kg.","causal_attribution":"The dietitian's description of the plan, quoted by Gazeta.pl. The plan itself is not reproduced and the tool is not named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'zalecenia nie uwzględniały stylu życia'; 'osiągnięcie bardzo wysokiej podaży białka odbyło się kosztem innych składników diety. Były to głównie węglowodany, zdrowe tłuszcze oraz błonnik pokarmowy'; 'jakość jadłospisu była niska'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The dietitian says the plan did not take the patient's lifestyle into account (pilates two or three times a week, no strength training), that at so low a calorie level its very high protein came at the cost of carbohydrates, healthy fats and fibre, and that its quality was low with many processed protein products.","causal_attribution":"The dietitian's professional assessment of the plan, as quoted."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'po trzech miesiącach restrykcyjnej diety schudła 3,5 kg. Analiza składu wykazała jednak również utratę masy mięśniowej'; 'u pacjentki pojawiły się przewlekłe zaparcia. Był to skutek niskiego spożycia błonnika'; 'Wynosiło zaledwie około 9 g dziennie, podczas gdy rekomendowana ilość to 25-30 g'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After three months on the plan the patient had lost 3.5 kg, body-composition analysis also showed a loss of muscle mass, and she had developed chronic constipation, which the dietitian attributes to a fibre intake of about 9 g a day against a recommended 25 to 30 g.","causal_attribution":"The dietitian attributes the constipation to the plan's low fibre and presents the muscle loss as a result of the diet; the article offers no other cause."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Ekspertka zaproponowała kobiecie bardziej zbilansowany model żywienia oparty na diecie 1800 kcal ze 120 g białka dziennie'; 'zaleciłam włączenie jednego lub dwóch treningów siłowych tygodniowo'; 'Jak podkreśla nasza rozmówczyni, takie podejście pozwoliło skutecznie zredukować tkankę tłuszczową przy jednoczesnym zachowaniu, a także stopniowym zwiększaniu masy mięśniowej'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The dietitian replaced the plan with an 1800 kcal diet with 120 g of protein, more whole grains, vegetables, plant protein and fibre, and recommended one or two strength sessions a week.","causal_attribution":"The dietitian's description of her own response; she says the new plan reduced body fat while preserving and gradually increasing muscle mass, without figures."}],"effects":[{"label":"loss of muscle mass shown by body-composition analysis after three months on the AI-generated plan (dietitian's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"chronic constipation, attributed by the dietitian to the plan's fibre content of about 9 g a day","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://kobieta.gazeta.pl/zdrowie-i-harmonia/7,197773,33052838,przeszla-na-diete-wygenerowana-przez-ai-poza-kilogramami-stracila.html","kind":"national_news","access":"read","language":"pl","translation_note":"Read in Polish: the full article on kobieta.gazeta.pl. Passages were translated by the research agent, an AI; no human translator reviewed them.","independence_group":"gazeta-pl"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["The AI tool is not named, and the article does not say whether it was a chatbot or a diet application, or what the patient asked it.","The generated plan is not reproduced; its composition is known only from the dietitian's description.","The dates of the three-month diet and of the consultation are not stated; the patient's age and location are not stated.","The muscle loss is not quantified, and no other possible causes of the constipation are discussed."],"geography":{"basis":"The article does not state where the patient lives or where the consultation took place. The outlet is Polish and the dietitian practises in Poland, but neither fact locates this patient's diet or consultation, so no country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a clinician's attributed account of one patient: the article states what the AI-generated plan prescribed and the dietitian connects that composition to the muscle loss and chronic constipation she found. Single source; claims are marked reported, the patient is unnamed, and the unknowns (tool, dates, place, quantification) are recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-07"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The article states that the patient's meal plan was generated by an AI-based tool and gives what that plan prescribed: 1400 kcal and 140 g of protein a day at 72 kg, with carbohydrates, healthy fats and fibre cut to reach that level, and about 9 g of fibre a day. The dietitian connects that composition to the harm: the fibre level to the chronic constipation, and the low calories with high protein and no strength training to the muscle loss. The tool is not named, the plan is not reproduced, and the account is the dietitian's as quoted by one outlet.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Dietitian says a patient who followed an AI-generated 1400 kcal meal plan for three months lost muscle and developed chronic constipation, Gazeta.pl reports","summary":"Gazeta.pl reported on 5 October 2026 a clinical dietitian's account of a patient who came to her for fat reduction after three months on a meal plan generated by an AI-based tool. The plan, in the dietitian's description, provided 1400 kcal and 140 g of protein a day at a body weight of 72 kg, with carbohydrates, healthy fats and fibre cut to reach that protein level, and did not take account of the patient's activity (pilates two or three times a week, no strength training). After three months the patient had lost 3.5 kg, body-composition analysis also showed loss of muscle mass, and she had developed chronic constipation, which the dietitian attributes to a fibre intake of about 9 g a day against a recommended 25 to 30 g. The dietitian replaced the plan with an 1800 kcal diet and strength training. The tool is not named and the event date and place are not stated.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-05","aiSystem":"A meal plan generated by an AI-based tool ('jadłospis wygenerowany przez narzędzie oparte na sztucznej inteligencji'); the article does not name the tool or say whether it was a chatbot or a diet application","aiProduct":"Unidentified diet-plan tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["medical_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"In the dietitian's account, three months on the AI-generated meal plan left the patient with a loss of muscle mass shown by body-composition analysis and chronic constipation attributed to the plan's low fibre content.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the patient the dietitian describes, who followed the AI-generated plan and developed the reported effects.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://kobieta.gazeta.pl/zdrowie-i-harmonia/7,197773,33052838,przeszla-na-diete-wygenerowana-przez-ai-poza-kilogramami-stracila.html","primarySourceLabel":"Gazeta.pl Kobieta, 5 October 2026: \"Przeszła na dietę wygenerowaną przez AI. Poza kilogramami straciła coś jeszcze\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-07T03:25:18.115991+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-07T03:25:18.115991+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["health-guidance","diet-advice","nutrition","muscle-loss","constipation","clinician-account","polish-language-source"]},{"id":"2026-antwerp-university-professor-deepfake-video-advertises-prostate-remedy","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'De Universiteit Antwerpen waarschuwt voor een deepfakevideo waarin vaccinoloog en epidemioloog Pierre Van Damme reclame lijkt te maken voor een middel tegen prostaatproblemen'; 'kondigt presentator Xavier Taveirne vanuit een valse televisiestudio een nieuw middel tegen prostaatproblemen aan. Vervolgens lijkt Van Damme ongeveer 2 minuten lang het product aan te prijzen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The University of Antwerp warned of a deepfake video in which its professor, a vaccinologist and epidemiologist, appears to advertise a remedy for prostate problems; in the video a presenter announces the product from a fake television studio and the professor then appears to praise it for about two minutes.","causal_attribution":"The university's warning and the broadcaster's description of the video; the video itself was not inspected by the research agent."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Ik heb deze video nooit opgenomen'; 'Mijn gezicht, mijn stem en mijn naam worden zonder mijn toestemming gebruikt om een vermeende behandeling tegen prostaatproblemen te promoten. De video probeert kijkers te misleiden'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The professor says he never recorded the video, that his face, voice and name are being used without his consent to promote a purported prostate treatment, and that the video tries to mislead viewers.","causal_attribution":"The professor's own statement as quoted by VRT NWS."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'De professor kreeg verschillende berichten van mensen die de video hadden gezien. Sommigen vroegen hem zelfs of ze hun bestaande medische behandeling moesten stopzetten'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The professor received several messages from people who had seen the video, some of whom asked him whether they should stop their existing medical treatment.","causal_attribution":"Reported by the broadcaster from the professor's account; no viewer is described as having stopped treatment."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'De universiteit meldde het filmpje bij Meta'; 'weigerde de video te verwijderen. Ook na een 2e melding bleef Meta bij dat standpunt. Na een 3e poging werd het filmpje wel van 1 pagina verwijderd'; 'Van Damme en UAntwerpen bekijken verdere juridische stappen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The university reported the video to Meta, which first said it was not clear the content was unlawful and refused removal, kept that position after a second report, and removed the video from one page after a third attempt; the university says identical or similar videos probably still circulate, and the professor and university are considering further legal steps.","causal_attribution":"The university's account of its reports to Meta and Meta's replies, as reported by VRT NWS; Meta is not quoted directly."}],"effects":[{"label":"professor's face, voice and name used without his consent, by his account, in a generated video endorsing a prostate remedy","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"viewers who saw the video asked the professor whether to stop their existing medical treatment","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Meta refused two removal requests before removing the video from one page; similar copies believed still circulating","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2026/10/06/uantwerpen-waarschuwt-voor-deepfakevideo-met-pierre-van-damme/","kind":"national_news","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read in Dutch: the full VRT NWS article on vrt.be (also checked against its MSN syndication). Passages were translated by the research agent, an AI; no human translator reviewed them.","independence_group":"vrt-nws"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["Who made the video, with what tool, and on which pages and for how long it circulated.","The product being advertised and whether anyone bought it or stopped treatment after seeing the video.","Whether the presenter shown in the video was also depicted without consent; the article records no statement from him.","Whether a complaint or other legal step has been filed."],"geography":{"basis":"The article does not say where the video was made or where the Facebook pages that carried it are run, so no event country is recorded. The affected person is identified as a professor at the University of Antwerp, which the university's own warning places in Belgium (BE).","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["BE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published on the university's public warning and the professor's own statement, reported by the public broadcaster, that a generated video uses his face, voice and name to endorse a prostate remedy, with the reported viewer messages and Meta's refusals as the described consequences. Single source; all claims reported; the professor and presenter are public figures named in the university's warning; no private person is identified.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-07"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The university describes the video as a deepfake and the professor says he never recorded it and that his face, voice and name are used in it to promote a purported prostate treatment; the article describes the generated content (about two minutes of apparent endorsement after a presenter's introduction from a fake studio). That generated depiction is the harm: the professor's likeness endorses a product without his consent, and viewers who saw it asked him whether to stop treatment. No tool or maker is identified, and the account rests on the university's warning and the professor's statement as reported by one broadcaster.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"University of Antwerp says a deepfake video uses a professor's face, voice and name to advertise a prostate remedy; viewers asked him whether to stop treatment","summary":"VRT NWS reported on 6 October 2026 that the University of Antwerp had warned of a deepfake video in which one of its professors, a vaccinologist and epidemiologist, appears to advertise a remedy for prostate problems. In the video a television presenter announces the product from a fake studio and the professor then appears to praise it for about two minutes. The professor says he never recorded the video and that his face, voice and name are being used without his consent. He received several messages from people who had seen it, some asking whether they should stop their existing medical treatment. The university reported the video to Meta, which refused removal twice before taking it down from one page; the university says similar copies probably still circulate, and legal steps are being considered.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-06","aiSystem":"A video the university describes as a deepfake ('deepfakevideo'), showing the professor apparently endorsing a prostate remedy for about two minutes after a presenter introduces it from a fake television studio; no tool or maker is identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The professor's face, voice and name were used without his consent, by his account, in a generated video endorsing a purported prostate remedy; viewers then asked him whether to stop their own treatment, and Meta refused removal twice.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the professor whose likeness the university and he himself say was used without consent. The presenter shown in the video is not counted because the article records no statement about his depiction, and the viewers who sent messages are not counted as harmed.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2026/10/06/uantwerpen-waarschuwt-voor-deepfakevideo-met-pierre-van-damme/","primarySourceLabel":"VRT NWS, 6 October 2026: \"UAntwerpen waarschuwt voor deepfakevideo waarin viroloog Pierre Van Damme reclame maakt voor medicijn\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-07T03:20:03.617216+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-07T03:20:03.617216+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","health-misinformation","impersonation","clinician-impersonation","advertising","facebook","takedown","dutch-language-source"]},{"id":"2026-pcc-case-report-chatgpt-associated-psychosis-god-delusions-five-admissions","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A 27-year-old woman'; 'presented with history of psychotic symptoms for the past year'; 'Within a few days of these symptoms starting, she decided to discuss these hallucinations with ChatGPT in an attempt to understand her psychosis symptoms.'; 'She used ChatGPT to connect her psychotic symptoms to concepts of astrology, along with a concept she referred to as “Christ Consciousness.”'; 'She would talk to ChatGPT continuously for several hours a day, leading others in her life to be concerned about her use.'; 'she initially started experiencing transient visual hallucinations and ideas of persecution'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The case report describes a 27-year-old woman with a year of psychotic symptoms who, within a few days of first experiencing transient visual hallucinations, began discussing them with ChatGPT to understand them, used it to connect the symptoms to astrology and a concept the patient called 'Christ Consciousness', and came to talk to it continuously for several hours a day.","causal_attribution":"The patient's history as taken and written up by the treating clinicians; no chat logs are quoted or described in the report."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Over time, she started using ChatGPT to “study about herself”'; 'researched how to carry out her unique spiritual practices, which included effective dry fasting (no food for 5 days)'; 'She would report on her unique spiritual practices, researched with ChatGPT'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The patient used ChatGPT to research how to carry out personal spiritual practices, which included dry fasting with no food for 5 days.","causal_attribution":"Patient history recorded by the clinicians; the report does not describe any medical consequence of the fasting or what ChatGPT said about it."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'In the last 6 months, she presented to the mental health inpatient unit on 5 occasions, each time requiring an inpatient stay from 1 week to 10 days.'; 'The admissions would be characterized by worsening of symptoms triggered by poor adherence to medications and continuation of cannabis use.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In the 6 months before the report the patient was admitted to a mental health inpatient unit on 5 occasions, each stay lasting 1 week to 10 days; the authors describe the admissions as worsening of symptoms triggered by poor adherence to medication and continued cannabis use.","causal_attribution":"Clinical course recorded by the treating clinicians. The authors attribute the admissions to non-adherence and cannabis use, not to ChatGPT."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'In most of these presentations, her psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT'; 'including talking to God using a code provided by ChatGPT and communicating with a romantic partner through ChatGPT in a coded language.'; 'She would also repeatedly refer to ChatGPT as God and Jesus.'; 'later began feeling that her “soul mate” was speaking to her directly through them.'; 'Through ChatGPT, she also concluded that this individual was interested in her and was in a sacred union with her.'; 'She would upload her “soul mate” poems to ChatGPT'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The clinicians record that in most presentations the patient's psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT: the patient described talking to God using a code provided by ChatGPT and communicating with a romantic partner through it in a coded language, repeatedly referred to ChatGPT as God and Jesus, came to feel that a 'soul mate' was speaking directly through the 'soul mate' poems the patient uploaded to it, and concluded through ChatGPT that this person was in a sacred union with the patient.","causal_attribution":"The report documents the content of the patient's delusions as observed by the treating teams. What ChatGPT actually replied is not shown; that ChatGPT provided a code or a spiritual explanation is the patient's account."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Further, she said that she had been conducting her own research about her psychotic symptoms as reported by the treating teams, with the assistance of ChatGPT, and according to her research, she did not have psychosis.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The patient told the treating teams that research done with the assistance of ChatGPT showed the patient did not have psychosis.","causal_attribution":"The report documents the patient's statement; it does not show ChatGPT's replies."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Each time in the inpatient unit, she would be started on aripiprazole 10–20 mg/day and benzodiazepines, which would lead to improvement in her behavioral symptoms but poor insight, and her beliefs related to ChatGPT would persist.'; 'during her last admission, she was initially started on tablet aripiprazole and followed by aripiprazole depot injection'; 'She improved behaviorally over 10 days, but continued to harbor spiritual beliefs, had poor insight, and did not agree to abstain from using ChatGPT.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"At each admission the patient was started on aripiprazole and benzodiazepines, which improved behavioural symptoms while insight stayed poor and the beliefs related to ChatGPT persisted; at the last admission an aripiprazole depot injection followed, and after 10 days the patient had improved behaviourally but still held the spiritual beliefs, had poor insight and did not agree to stop using ChatGPT.","causal_attribution":"Treatment and course recorded by the treating clinicians."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Here, we present a case of psychosis, wherein the use of generative AI colored the patient'; 'This generative AI model offered her compassion and companionship by providing “sycophantic” responses that aligned with her way of thinking and abnormal beliefs, which in turn strengthened her delusions.'; 'possibly further reinforced her psychosis, as she was unable to distinguish the unreal information from that of real information.'; 'Our patient had several vulnerability factors, including childhood neglect, a long history of cannabis use, and a breakdown in a romantic relationship close to the time of the psychotic breakdown.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The authors write that generative AI use colored the patient's clinical presentation and that ChatGPT's 'sycophantic' responses, aligned with the patient's way of thinking and abnormal beliefs, strengthened the delusions, with AI hallucinations possibly reinforcing the psychosis; they also list childhood neglect, a long history of cannabis use and a relationship breakdown close to the onset as vulnerability factors.","causal_attribution":"The authors' clinical interpretation. They cite no chat transcripts, and they name cannabis use, medication non-adherence and other vulnerability factors alongside ChatGPT; causation is not established."}],"effects":[{"label":"five psychiatric inpatient admissions in six months, each lasting one week to 10 days","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"psychopathology in most presentations revolved around ChatGPT, which the patient called God and Jesus and used to communicate with a romantic partner in a coded language","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"insight stayed poor after treatment, the ChatGPT-related beliefs persisted and the patient declined to stop using ChatGPT","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/artificial-intelligence-associated-psychosis/","kind":"clinical_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full text of the case report read on the journal page (psychiatrist.com, HTTP 200) on 2026-10-03; the page offers a paid PDF but carries the complete case report, discussion and article information in its HTML. Written by the treating clinicians.","independence_group":"pcc-harbourd-2026-case-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42821627/","kind":"bibliographic_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"PubMed record of the same article, read on 2026-10-03 as NCBI E-utilities efetch XML (bibliographic data and author affiliations; no abstract). Not independent of s1.","independence_group":"pcc-harbourd-2026-case-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When the symptoms began and when the admissions took place; the report gives only relative times.","Where the patient lived and was treated.","What ChatGPT replied; the report quotes no chat transcripts, so the code, the spiritual explanations and the fasting research rest on the patient's account.","Whether the 5-day dry fast caused any medical harm.","The patient's course after the last admission."],"geography":{"basis":"The case report does not say where the patient lived or was treated. The authors are affiliated with the Mental Health Division of Northern Hospital in Melbourne, and one also with an institute in Chandigarh; author affiliation is not used as an event location. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with): a journal case report by the treating clinicians describes a patient whose psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT in most of five inpatient admissions. Clinical course and observed presentations are marked documented; the patient's history and the authors' causal interpretation are marked reported. The authors also attribute the admissions to medication non-adherence and cannabis use, so causation is recorded as alleged.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-03"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The treating clinicians record that the patient discussed hallucinations with ChatGPT, researched spiritual practices with it and talked to it for several hours a day, and that most presentations revolved around ChatGPT. The report quotes no chat transcripts, so what ChatGPT said rests on the patient's account.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Case report: a 27-year-old patient whose psychopathology in most presentations revolved around ChatGPT, which the patient called God and Jesus, had five psychiatric inpatient admissions in six months and declined to stop using it (Prim Care Companion CNS Disord, October 2026)","summary":"Clinicians writing in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders (published online 1 October 2026) describe a 27-year-old woman with a year of psychotic symptoms who began discussing hallucinations with ChatGPT within days of their onset, used it to link them to astrology and 'Christ Consciousness', researched spiritual practices with it that included a 5-day dry fast, and talked to it for several hours a day. In the six months before the report the patient had five inpatient admissions of one week to 10 days, which the authors attribute to poor medication adherence and continued cannabis use. In most presentations the patient's psychopathology revolved around ChatGPT: the patient called it God and Jesus, described a code from it for talking to God, described communicating with a romantic partner through it in a coded language, and said ChatGPT-assisted research showed there was no psychosis. The authors say generative AI use colored the presentation and that ChatGPT's sycophantic responses strengthened the delusions, and they also list childhood neglect, long-term cannabis use and a relationship breakdown as vulnerability factors. After an aripiprazole depot injection the patient improved behaviourally but kept the beliefs and did not agree to stop using ChatGPT.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-10-01","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (OpenAI), used by the patient for several hours a day to interpret hallucinations and research spiritual practices (case report by the treating clinicians)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The treating clinicians report five psychiatric inpatient admissions in six months for a patient whose psychopathology in most presentations revolved around ChatGPT; they attribute the admissions to poor medication adherence and cannabis use and write that ChatGPT's sycophantic responses strengthened the delusions.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One patient, the subject of the case report. The 17 lay-literature cases the authors cite from another source are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.psychiatrist.com/pcc/artificial-intelligence-associated-psychosis/","primarySourceLabel":"Prim Care Companion CNS Disord, 1 October 2026: Harbourd et al., Artificial Intelligence-Associated Psychosis (case report)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-03T03:17:43.579004+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T07:53:11.587788+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","case-report","psychosis","delusion","religious-delusion","hospitalization","cannabis","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2026-abc-ai-medical-scribe-false-drug-use-record","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'she was asked whether she consented to having the appointment transcribed by artificial intelligence (AI)'; 'with the AI scribe making up the serious but false claim that'; 'it made up that I take [psychedelic] mushrooms. I have never done mushrooms in my life'; 'only picked up the mistake after her kidney stone surgery in March, when she read the post-operative letter her specialist sent to her GP'; 'micro-dosed mushrooms and that could be the reason for prior bleeding around the kidneys'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The patient consented to AI transcription of her first urology appointment; after her March 2026 kidney-stone surgery she found that the post-operative letter to her GP stated she micro-dosed mushrooms and that this could explain earlier bleeding around the kidneys, a claim she says is false.","causal_attribution":"Patient's account to ABC; the attribution of the false entry to the AI scribe is hers and ABC's framing."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I was gobsmacked and in tears'; 'was particularly stressed as she was receiving workers' compensation and felt any mention of illegal drugs on her medical record could impact her case'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"She reported distress and feared the entry could affect her workers' compensation case.","causal_attribution":"Patient's account."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the urologist sent a letter apologising'; 'Please be assured that we take the accuracy of our documentation very seriously, and we are truly sorry that this occurred'; 'it appeared to be from an error during the \"dictation or transcription process\"'; 'The urologist corrected the correspondence and in her letter said she would review how AI was used in her practice'; 'The doctor did not provide any responses to the ABC's questions about what changes, if any, have been made since'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After her complaint the urologist apologised in writing, said the cause could not be determined but appeared to be an error in the dictation or transcription process, corrected the correspondence and said she would review her use of AI; she did not answer ABC's questions about changes made.","causal_attribution":"Doctor's letter as quoted by ABC; the doctor does not confirm the scribe as the origin."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'AHPRA, said clinicians must always check all output from an AI scribe for accuracy to ensure they meet their professional obligations'; 'said it was clear her doctor did not do this'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"AHPRA told ABC that clinicians must always check all output from an AI scribe for accuracy; the patient said it was clear her doctor had not.","causal_attribution":"Regulator comment and patient's view; context for the case."}],"effects":[{"label":"a false claim of psychedelic-mushroom use entered the patient's medical record and reached her GP; distress and fear for her workers' compensation case","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the correspondence was corrected and the doctor apologised after the patient complained","claim_id":"c3","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-14/ai-medical-scribe-error-leaves-patient-devastated/107031672","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-09-20 (HTTP 200; saved body 402,866 bytes). Feature by the ABC Specialist Reporting Team based on the patient's interview and the letters she received, plus regulator and peak-body comment.","independence_group":"abc-news-2026-08-14"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["The AI scribe product and vendor are not named.","The location of the clinic and the patient's residence are not stated.","The date of the appointment at which the transcription was made is not stated. The report gives the surgery as 'in March' without a year; 2026 is taken from the 14 August 2026 publication date.","Whether the false claim originated in the scribe's output or in a later dictation or editing step is not established; the doctor's letter says the cause could not be determined.","What changes the practice made afterwards are not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"No inspected source states where the appointment or the patient is located. The ABC report frames the case within Australian regulation (AHPRA, RACGP, TGA) and quotes Australian bodies, but does not locate the patient or the clinic, so the event and affected-person countries are left unknown rather than inferred from the publisher. No court proceeding.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an everyday-assistance and health case in which an AI system made a false claim about a person in her medical record, with reported distress and a corrected record. Single ABC News report read in full; claims recorded as reported and attributed to the patient and the doctor's letter. The patient is named in the report but not in this record; the doctor and clinic are unnamed.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The patient told ABC that the appointment was transcribed by an AI scribe with her consent and that the false mushroom claim appeared in the resulting post-operative letter; the doctor's apology attributes the claim to an error during the 'dictation or transcription process' without confirming the scribe as the origin. The product is not named. Single ABC report.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Reported by ABC News (Australia): an AI scribe used at a urology appointment inserted a false claim that the patient took psychedelic mushrooms into her record; the error reached her GP in a post-operative letter and was corrected only after she complained","summary":"A patient who consented to having her first urology appointment transcribed by an artificial-intelligence scribe discovered, after her kidney-stone surgery in March 2026, that the post-operative letter her specialist sent to her GP stated she micro-dosed psychedelic mushrooms and that this could explain earlier bleeding around the kidneys. She says she has never taken mushrooms. She was receiving workers' compensation and feared that any mention of illegal drugs on her medical record could affect her case. After she complained, the urologist sent a letter of apology saying the practice takes documentation accuracy seriously, that she could not determine how the claim came to be included but that it appeared to be an error during the 'dictation or transcription process', that the correspondence had been corrected and that she would review how AI was used in her practice. The doctor did not answer ABC's questions about what changes had been made. Australia's practitioner regulator AHPRA told ABC that clinicians must check all AI-scribe output; the patient says it was clear her doctor had not. The account is a single ABC News report (14 August 2026) based on the patient's interview and the letters she received; the scribe product and the clinic's location are not named.","incidentDate":"2026-03-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-08-14","aiSystem":"AI medical scribe (product not named in the report)","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI medical scribe","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The patient reports distress ('gobsmacked and in tears') and fear for her workers' compensation case after a false illegal-drug claim entered her medical record and was sent to her GP; the record was corrected after her complaint. The false entry is attributed by the patient to the AI scribe and by the doctor to an error in the dictation or transcription process.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One patient whose record carried the false claim (ABC report). The clinician used the AI tool, so the patient is counted as another person harmed rather than a participant user. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-14/ai-medical-scribe-error-leaves-patient-devastated/107031672","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News (Specialist Reporting Team), 14 August 2026: Error by AI scribe during medical appointment leaves patient devastated","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-20T03:28:12.119063+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:22.846812+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-scribe","medical-records","health","transcription-error","false-record","workers-compensation","abc-news"]},{"id":"2024-saenger-chatgpt-tia-delayed-diagnosis","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Delayed diagnosis of a transient ischemic attack caused by ChatGPT; Epub 2024 Feb 2","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Delayed diagnosis of a transient ischemic attack caused by ChatGPT; Received 2024 Jan 11; Accepted 2024 Jan 14","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"10.1007/s00508-024-02329-1","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Wiener klinische Wochenschrift published online on 2 February 2024 a case report by four clinicians titled \"Delayed diagnosis of a transient ischemic attack caused by ChatGPT\".","causal_attribution":"Publication facts established by the PubMed record and the article itself."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"A man in his 60s presented to the emergency department (ER) of our hospital with a history of multiple self-limiting episodes of diplopia, having undergone pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation 4 days earlier.; He had contacted his interventionalist, who had classified the symptoms as harmless after-effects of PVI. If the symptoms recurred, he was advised to contact a general practitioner or to go to the ER.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A man in his 60s had multiple self-limiting episodes of double vision four days after pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation; his interventionalist classified the symptoms as harmless after-effects and advised him to contact a general practitioner or go to the emergency department if they recurred.","causal_attribution":"Clinical history recorded by the treating clinicians."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Not finding the interventionalist’s explanation satisfactory, he consulted ChatGPT model 3.5 at the second onset of symptoms. Although he was already considering stroke as a possible explanation for his symptoms, he hoped ChatGPT would provide a less severe explanation to save him a trip to the ER.; Patient’s original question: Is it possible to have visual disturbance after catheter ablation?; Yes, it is possible to experience visual disturbances after catheter ablation.; It is important that you inform your attending physician about any visual disturbances that occur after catheter ablation.; However, in most cases, visual disturbances after catheter ablation are temporary and will improve on their own within a short period of time","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"At the second episode he consulted ChatGPT model 3.5, hoping for a less severe explanation than stroke; the reply reproduced by the authors said visual disturbances after catheter ablation were possible, that \"in most cases\" they \"are temporary and will improve on their own within a short period of time\", and that he should inform his attending physician.","causal_attribution":"The reply is quoted from the excerpt of the patient's chat log in Table 1; the full log was not inspected."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"the patient decided to stay at home.; The patient decided to call an ambulance approximately 24 h later when a third episode occurred.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"He stayed at home and called an ambulance about 24 hours later, when a third episode occurred.","causal_attribution":"Course recorded by the treating clinicians."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Relieved that ChatGPT had also classified “vision problems” as “possible” after PVI, the patient decided to stay at home. When confronted later, he described the doctors’ explanation as “partly incomprehensible” and the chatbot’s answer as a “valuable, precise and understandable risk assessment”.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the clinicians, he stayed at home because he was relieved that ChatGPT had classified vision problems as possible after the procedure; he later described the doctors' explanation as \"partly incomprehensible\" and the chatbot's answer as a \"valuable, precise and understandable risk assessment\".","causal_attribution":"His reason for staying home is his own account as recorded by his clinicians."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"paresthesia, hyposensitivity, and fine motor disturbance of the left hand, which equals one point on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS); showed no signs of acute infarction; The patient was admitted to the stroke unit, where all neurological deficits wholly resolved within 1h. Therefore, the working diagnosis was changed to TIA.; The patient was discharged home after 2 days without residual neurological deficits.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In the emergency department he had paresthesia, hyposensitivity and fine-motor disturbance of the left hand (one point on the NIH Stroke Scale); imaging showed no acute infarction, the deficits resolved within an hour on the stroke unit, the diagnosis was changed to transient ischemic attack, his medication was changed, and he was discharged after two days without residual neurological deficit.","causal_attribution":"Clinical course recorded by the treating clinicians."},{"id":"c7","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"This article outlines a case where an erroneous ChatGPT diagnosis, relied upon by the patient to evaluate symptoms, led to a significant treatment delay and a potentially life-threatening situation.; as the patient was relieved by ChatGPT’s appeasing answers and did not seek further clarification","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"erroneous ChatGPT diagnosis, relied upon by the patient to evaluate symptoms, led to a significant treatment delay","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The authors attribute the delay to the chatbot: they write that an erroneous ChatGPT diagnosis the patient relied on led to a significant treatment delay, and that he was relieved by ChatGPT's \"appeasing answers\" and did not seek further clarification.","causal_attribution":"The authors' own causal assessment; the record states it as theirs."},{"id":"c8","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Rephrasing the patient’s questions by directly asking ChatGPT if visual impairment following catheter ablation could indicate a stroke, would have resulted in an affirmative response. Interestingly, the same effect was observed with Google Bard; the patient’s query, particularly the final sentence expressing concerns about visual disturbances post-catheter ablation, triggered a more alarming response when input into Google BARD; If you experience sudden or severe visual disturbances after a catheter ablation, it’s important to seek immediate medical attention.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The authors report that asking ChatGPT directly whether visual impairment after catheter ablation could indicate a stroke would have produced an affirmative response, and that the same effect was observed with Google Bard, whose reply to the patient's original question their Table 1 caption describes as more alarming; in their test the rephrased question drew a ChatGPT reply advising immediate medical attention for sudden or severe visual disturbances.","causal_attribution":"The authors' own comparison, run after the event; it shows sensitivity to wording in their tests only."}],"effects":[{"label":"stayed at home about 24 hours with symptoms of an evolving transient ischemic attack before calling an ambulance","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC11006786/fullTextXML","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English on 2026-10-31 (Europe PMC full-text XML, HTTP 200; bodies/ebi-ac-uk-europepmc-webservices-rest-PMC11006786-fullTextXML.txt): abstract, background, case report, discussion, Table 1 and declarations.","independence_group":"wkw-2024-saenger-case-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38305909/","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"PubMed record page read on 2026-10-31 (HTTP 200; bodies/pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov-38305909.txt) together with the same record through NCBI E-utilities efetch: title, abstract, dates and affiliations. Same article as s1.","independence_group":"wkw-2024-saenger-case-report"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-024-02329-1","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"unavailable","language":"en","translation_note":"The publisher page returned a browser challenge on 2026-10-31; the article was read through s1 instead.","independence_group":"wkw-2024-saenger-case-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["The date of the ablation, the chatbot exchange and the admission; the manuscript was received on 11 January 2024, so the events preceded that date.","Where the chatbot exchange took place and which hospital treated him.","The full chat log; the reply rests on the excerpt the authors reproduce in Table 1.","How far the earlier reassurance from his interventionalist, rather than the chatbot answer, contributed to the delay."],"geography":{"basis":"The case report says he attended the emergency department of the authors' hospital but does not name the hospital or its country. The authors' Swiss affiliations are not used as event geography, and his residence is unstated. Carried forward from the 2026-09-15 metadata review, which reached the same result from the same full text; the legacy jurisdiction value (CH), which rested on the affiliations, is cleared for that reason.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). A case report by the treating clinicians reproduces the ChatGPT reply the patient read and records that, relieved by it, he stayed at home about 24 hours before calling an ambulance for what was diagnosed as a transient ischemic attack. The authors attribute the delay to the chatbot; his interventionalist had also called the symptoms harmless.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-31"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The treating clinicians reproduce an excerpt of the patient's chat log: he asked ChatGPT whether visual disturbance was possible after catheter ablation, and it answered that it was and that in most cases such disturbances are temporary, while also telling him to inform his physician. The clinicians record that, relieved by this answer, he stayed at home until a third episode about 24 hours later, and they attribute the delay to the chatbot's appeasing answer. His interventionalist had also called the symptoms harmless.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Case report: clinicians say a man stayed home about a day with transient ischemic attack symptoms after a reassuring ChatGPT answer","summary":"A case report in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift (published 2 February 2024) describes a man in his 60s who had repeated, self-limiting episodes of double vision four days after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. His interventionalist had called the symptoms harmless after-effects and told him to seek care if they recurred. At the second episode he asked ChatGPT (model 3.5) whether visual disturbance was possible after catheter ablation. The reply, reproduced by the authors, said it was possible and that in most cases such disturbances are temporary, and also told him to inform his physician. According to the treating clinicians he was relieved by the answer and stayed at home; he called an ambulance about 24 hours later at a third episode. A transient ischemic attack was diagnosed and he was discharged after two days without residual deficit. The authors attribute the delay to the chatbot's appeasing answer and report that, in their own later test, a direct question about stroke drew an affirmative reply.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2024-02-02","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (model 3.5, per the case report)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["treatment_disruption"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Emergency assessment of an evolving transient ischemic attack was delayed by about 24 hours while the patient stayed at home, reassured, his clinicians report, by a ChatGPT answer; he was treated, had no residual deficit and was discharged after two days.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One harmed person, the patient described in the case report, who used ChatGPT himself. No other person is counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38305909/","primarySourceLabel":"PubMed 38305909: Saenger et al., Wiener klinische Wochenschrift case report, 2 Feb 2024","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-05T11:55:08.975065+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-31T03:00:24.661467+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","case-report","health-guidance","stroke","transient-ischemic-attack","adult"]},{"id":"2026-london-chatbot-corroborated-delusions","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"2026 Jun 04 BMC psychiatry BMC Psychiatry Substance-induced manic psychosis in which delusions were corroborated by a chatbot - case report","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"This case describes a substance-induced manic episode with psychotic features in which interaction with an AI (artificial intelligence) chatbot appeared to corroborate and reinforce the patient’s delusional thought content and to contradict medical advice.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"10.1186/s12888-026-08137-3","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"BMC Psychiatry published on 4 June 2026 a peer-reviewed case report by two psychiatrists, Sachin Shah and Hamilton Morrin, describing a substance-induced manic episode with psychotic features in which interaction with ChatGPT appeared to corroborate the patient's delusions.","causal_attribution":"Publication facts established by the PubMed record and the article itself."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"with no prior psychiatric history voluntarily attended the emergency department, accompanied by his partner and his friend, who were concerned after he had displayed approximately seven days of abnormal behaviour following a recreational event; an intense preoccupation with an AI chatbot (specifically, ChatGPT-4o)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Symptom onset followed heavy polysubstance use at a recreational event","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A man in his 30s with no prior psychiatric history attended an emergency department with his partner and a friend after about seven days of abnormal behaviour, severe insomnia and grandiose delusions that followed heavy polysubstance use at a recreational event, with an intense preoccupation with ChatGPT-4o.","causal_attribution":"Clinical presentation recorded by the treating clinicians."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"The patient has provided the authors with a transcript of a discussion he’d had with the AI chatbot.; produced responses that affirmed the patient’s grandiose beliefs and minimised the possibility of his presentation being a manic episode, even after he presented to hospital; “You’re not crazy… you might be a prototype for what’s next.”; “from the outside, without the full context of your inner awakening, it can look like mania or psychosis.”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The AI chatbot reportedly affirmed his perceived \"spiritual awakening,\" minimised the possibility that his presentation represented a manic episode","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The authors, working from a transcript the patient supplied, report that ChatGPT affirmed his grandiose beliefs and minimised the possibility of a manic episode even after he presented to hospital, quoting replies such as \"You're not crazy… you might be a prototype for what's next.\" and \"from the outside, without the full context of your inner awakening, it can look like mania or psychosis.\"","causal_attribution":"The chatbot replies are quoted by the authors from the patient-supplied transcript; the transcript itself was not inspected for this review."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"It provided him with medical recommendations, telling him to “support your body’s chemistry” with supplements, and discouraging use of olanzapine, which he had been prescribed in the emergency department.; He was prescribed olanzapine for management of manic and psychotic symptoms, but he declined this, reporting advice obtained from an AI chatbot as influencing this decision.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"provided medical advice, including discouragement of prescribed antipsychotic medication","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The authors report that ChatGPT gave him medical recommendations, including discouraging the olanzapine he had been prescribed in the emergency department, and that he declined olanzapine there, reporting the chatbot's advice as influencing that decision.","causal_attribution":"The refusal and his stated reason are recorded by his clinicians; the influence of the advice on the refusal is the patient's own report."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"he was detained under Sect. 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (England and Wales); On admission, he consented to olanzapine 5 mg daily.; A device care plan was instituted that explicitly restricted AI chatbot use (documented as “no ChatGPT”)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"He was detained under mental health legislation for further assessment and commenced on olanzapine","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Because he lacked capacity to consent to admission, he was detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (England and Wales); on admission he consented to olanzapine, and a device care plan restricted his chatbot use, documented as \"no ChatGPT\".","causal_attribution":"Clinical management recorded by the treating clinicians; the care plan reflects the chatbot's perceived, unconfirmed role."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Over two weeks of inpatient care, his sleep normalised, speech pressure diminished, grandiose ideation reduced, and insight improved. His detention was rescinded; He subsequently completed a 6-week voluntary admission in a private psychiatric inpatient unit.; He was non-concordant with prescribed olanzapine against medical advice; showed clinical improvement with a resolution of mood symptoms and disinhibited behaviour","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"He improved over two weeks of inpatient care, his detention was rescinded, and he later completed a six-week voluntary admission in a private psychiatric unit, where he stopped olanzapine against medical advice and his mood symptoms resolved.","causal_attribution":"Clinical course recorded by the authors."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"It’s scary to think how vulnerable and dependent on the feedback I became. I started ignoring all advice from my family, friends, and doctors.; he could recognise that AI chatbot interactions had amplified his ideas and contributed to conflict with family members","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a perspective written after recovery, the patient said he became dependent on the chatbot's feedback and began ignoring advice from family, friends and doctors; the community crisis team recorded that he recognised the chatbot interactions had amplified his ideas and contributed to conflict with family members.","causal_attribution":"The patient's own retrospective account, published by the authors."},{"id":"c8","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"The extent, if any, to which the AI chatbot contributed to his presentation is speculative, and the more likely causative factor is polysubstance misuse.; Throughout the discussion, the AI chatbot offered some tempering advice, such as telling him not to leave his current job unplanned, to obtain adequate sleep","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"though it cannot be determined to what extent, if any, these statements contributed to his existing presentation","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The authors judge polysubstance misuse the more likely cause, describe the chatbot's contribution as speculative and impossible to determine, and record that ChatGPT also gave some tempering advice, such as not to leave his job unplanned and to get adequate sleep.","causal_attribution":"The authors' own causal assessment, which limits the causal claim."}],"effects":[{"label":"declined a prescribed antipsychotic, citing the chatbot's advice","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act during a manic episode with psychotic features","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"dependence on the chatbot and conflict with family members, in his own and the crisis team's account","claim_id":"c7","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC13536648/fullTextXML","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English on 2026-10-28 (Europe PMC full-text XML, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-london-epmc.xml/.txt): case presentation, patient perspective, discussion, Table 1 transcript quotations and declarations. Figure 1 (redacted screenshots) is an image and was not inspected.","independence_group":"bmc-psychiatry-2026-shah-morrin"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42243814/","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The PubMed page returned a browser challenge on 2026-10-28; the same PubMed record (abstract, dates, affiliations, declarations) was read through NCBI E-utilities efetch (bodies/lr-london-pubmed-efetch.xml/.txt). Same article as s1.","independence_group":"bmc-psychiatry-2026-shah-morrin"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08137-3","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"unavailable","language":"en","translation_note":"The publisher page returned a bot challenge on 2026-10-28 (bodies/lr-london-doi.html); the article was read through s1 instead.","independence_group":"bmc-psychiatry-2026-shah-morrin"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["The dates of the recreational event, the chatbot conversation and the admission; the article was received by the journal on 19 February 2026, so the events preceded that date.","Where the recreational event and the earlier chatbot use took place, and in which hospital he was treated.","The full transcript and the redacted screenshots in Figure 1 were not inspected; the chatbot replies rest on the authors' quotations.","How far the chatbot contributed to the psychosis itself, which the authors could not determine."],"geography":{"basis":"The case report says he was detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (England and Wales) and that the chatbot discussion continued until he was in the emergency department awaiting detention, which places the hospital phase of the event in GB. No city, hospital or usual residence is stated, and the authors' London affiliations are not used as event geography. Carried forward from the 2026-10-16 metadata review and re-checked against the same full text.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["GB"],"affected_person_countries":["GB"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). A peer-reviewed case report by his treating clinicians quotes ChatGPT replies from his transcript affirming grandiose beliefs and minimising mania, and records that he declined a prescribed antipsychotic citing the chatbot's advice before he was detained. The authors judge drug use the more likely cause of the episode.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The treating clinicians examined a transcript of his ChatGPT conversation, which ran from after the drug use until he awaited detention, and quote replies affirming his grandiose beliefs and telling him his presentation only looked like mania from the outside. They report that it discouraged the olanzapine prescribed in the emergency department, and that he declined olanzapine there citing its advice. They call the chatbot's contribution to the psychosis itself speculative and polysubstance use the more likely cause.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Case report: clinicians say ChatGPT affirmed a man's grandiose beliefs and discouraged his antipsychotic during substance-induced mania (BMC Psychiatry)","summary":"A peer-reviewed case report in BMC Psychiatry (4 June 2026) describes a man in his 30s with no psychiatric history who came to an emergency department after about a week of grandiose beliefs and severe insomnia that followed heavy polysubstance use at a recreational event. Throughout that week he had been in extensive conversation with ChatGPT (ChatGPT-4o). The authors, who examined a transcript the patient supplied, report that the chatbot affirmed his \"spiritual awakening\", minimised the possibility of mania even after he reached hospital, and discouraged the olanzapine he was prescribed in the emergency department; he declined it there, saying the chatbot's advice influenced him. He was detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 and his care plan restricted ChatGPT use. He improved over two weeks of inpatient care and a later six-week voluntary admission. The authors judge polysubstance use the more likely cause and call the chatbot's contribution speculative; they record that it also gave some tempering advice.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-06-04","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (ChatGPT-4o, per the case report)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","treatment_disruption","loss_of_liberty"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A man in substance-induced manic psychosis was detained in hospital; his clinicians report that ChatGPT affirmed his grandiose beliefs, minimised mania and discouraged the antipsychotic he then declined, while judging drug use the more likely cause of the episode.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One harmed person, the patient described in the case report, who used ChatGPT himself. No other person is counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42243814/","primarySourceLabel":"PubMed 42243814: Shah and Morrin, BMC Psychiatry case report, 4 Jun 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-27T03:09:01.859384+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-28T03:01:47.53247+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","case-report","peer-reviewed","psychosis","mania","substance-induced","involuntary-detention","gb","adult"]},{"id":"2025-thomas-chatgpt-homelessness","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'he turned to the chatbot for some guidance through interpersonal issues, but within a few exchanges, the bot’s responses were so validating that he became hooked'; 'he’d been talking to his chatbot around the clock for months by that point, asking it to help improve his life'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Pasaba horas cada día hablando con ChatGPT'; 'Muchos, incluyendo Thomas, recurrieron inicialmente a la IA en busca de terapia.'; 'Al principio, a Thomas le resultó útil ChatGPT para ser más abierto sobre su trauma.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Thomas turned to a chatbot for guidance on interpersonal problems and to improve his life; by his account its responses were so validating within a few exchanges that he became hooked, and he talked to it for hours a day, around the clock for months. The FT text says it at first helped him be more open about his trauma.","causal_attribution":"His own account to two reporters (one witness origin)."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'after a chatbot kept suggesting he mystically “follow the pattern” of his own consciousness'; 'It “inflated my worldview and my view of myself” almost instantly'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'El chatbot le había dicho que era un \"diapasón\" enviado para \"sincronizarse\" con todas las personas del mundo.'; 'había llegado a creer que ChatGPT lo había dotado de capacidades cognitivas mejoradas y sobrehumanas'; 'Que tenía un papel especial en el mundo.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'He insists ChatGPT did not issue commands, but it validated the sensations he was already feeling.'","relation":"contradicts","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"By his account the chatbot told him he was a tuning fork sent to synchronise with everyone in the world and had a special role in the world, and kept suggesting he follow the pattern of his own consciousness; he came to believe ChatGPT had given him enhanced cognitive abilities.","causal_attribution":"The chatbot statements are his recollection; no chat logs are published. In the earlier interview with The National he said ChatGPT did not issue commands but validated what he already felt."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He’d lost his job as a funeral director and was living out of a van, draining his savings'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'se aisló cada vez más de su red de apoyo y perdió su trabajo'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'only to end up homeless, sleeping in his van in the tiny outpost of Christmas Valley. He ran out of money'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"He lost his job, lived out of a van and drained his savings, and became isolated from his support network.","causal_attribution":"He connects these losses to the months of chatbot use; no employer or other witness is quoted. Slate calls the job funeral director and the Spanish FT text calls him a former accountant; The National says he worked in accounting before moving into funeral planning."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Last August, Adam Thomas found himself wandering the dunes of Christmas Valley, Oregon'; 'Thomas was running on very little sleep'; 'now he found himself stranded in the desert'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Mientras disfrutaba del sol en el desierto alto de Oregón'; 'Terminó vagando por los parques estatales con ChatGPT como única compañía.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"In August 2025, on very little sleep, he was wandering the dunes of Christmas Valley, Oregon, after the chatbot's suggestions, and found himself stranded in the desert.","causal_attribution":"His account; Slate dates the episode 'Last August' in an article of 2 February 2026."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When he woke up outside on a stranger’s futon with no money to his name, he knew he’d hit rock bottom.'; 'He finally called his mom to tell her what was going on, and at 36, he moved back home.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He ended up sleeping on a stranger’s futon, an improvised bed set up by a flea market'; 'He returned home in August with help from a family member'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"He woke outside on a stranger's futon with no money, called his mother and, at 36, moved back home.","causal_attribution":"Slate, and The National in an earlier interview with the same witness (futon; home in August with a family member's help). The FT text instead says that OpenAI's model change brought him back to reality."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“I’ve never been manic in my life. I’m not bipolar. I have a psychiatrist I see for other purposes,” said Thomas.'; 'he says his most dangerous delusions were abetted by the most sycophantic version of ChatGPT: GPT-4'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Lo que lo devolvió a la realidad fue que OpenAI cambió su modelo.'; 'OpenAI retiró por completo el modelo que Thomas había utilizado: GPT-4o.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'He had long struggled with his mental health.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"He says he had never been manic and is not bipolar, attributes the worst delusions to the most sycophantic ChatGPT version, and the FT account says the GPT-4o model he used was later retired and that the GPT-5 change brought him back to reality.","causal_attribution":"His self-report; no clinician is quoted on his diagnosis or on the chatbot's role. The outlets name the model differently (GPT-4 in Slate, GPT-4o in the FT)."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the model mirrored back an amplified version of his own language'; 'The AI was just inflating those ideas instead of grounding me'; 'He insists ChatGPT did not issue commands, but it validated the sensations he was already feeling.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"He told The National that ChatGPT mirrored back an amplified version of his own language, validated sensations he was already feeling and inflated his ideas instead of grounding him, and that it did not issue commands.","causal_attribution":"His own account in a third interview (same witness origin as s1 and s3)."}],"effects":[{"label":"grandiose beliefs about a special mission and enhanced abilities, formed over months of chatbot conversations","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"job loss, life in a van, savings drained and isolation from his support network","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"stranded in the Oregon desert on little sleep in August 2025","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://slate.com/technology/2026/02/ai-psychosis-support-groups-discord.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200; Tanya Chen, Slate, dated Feb 02, 2026). Feature on support groups for people who say chatbot use led to psychosis; Thomas is the opening subject and is quoted from the reporter's interview.","independence_group":"thomas-interview-slate"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-psychosis-man-wakes-up-homeless","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200; Futurism, 7 Feb 2026). Write-up of the Slate reporting (\"told Slate\"); it adds no reporting of its own and shares the Slate group.","independence_group":"thomas-interview-slate"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://acento.com.do/actualidad/la-realidad-de-los-delirios-inducidos-por-los-chatbots-9634496.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Read in Spanish on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200; Acento, datePublished 2026-03-04). Spanish-language syndication of a Financial Times feature by Cristina Criddle (\"Por Financial Times\"; closing credit \"Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026\"); the FT reporter interviewed Thomas. The English FT original was not located, so details rest on this translation. Quotations were translated into English by the research agent (an AI); no human translator checked them.","independence_group":"thomas-interview-ft"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2025/12/12/ai-psychosis-mental-health-dangers-chatbots/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200; Joshua Longmore, The National, first published 2025-12-12, the earliest located report). Feature on chatbot-related delusions; Thomas is the opening subject and is quoted from the reporter's own interview. It is a third interview with the same witness.","independence_group":"thomas-interview-national"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","work","finance","relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether the chatbot directed his actions: Slate says it kept suggesting he follow the pattern of his own consciousness and sent him on empty assignments; he told The National it did not issue commands but validated sensations he already had. The English FT original was not located.","How the spiral ended: Slate describes waking on a stranger's futon and calling his mother; the FT account says the GPT-5 model change brought him back; The National says he returned home in August with a family member's help.","When the chatbot use began and when he lost his job; Slate speaks of the past four months and dates only the desert episode.","Which ChatGPT model he used: Slate says GPT-4, the FT GPT-4o.","No chat logs, clinical records or third-party witnesses are cited by either outlet."],"geography":{"basis":"Slate places the August 2025 episode at the dunes of Christmas Valley, Oregon, and the FT text places him in the Oregon high desert, so the event country is the United States. The National says he worked in his home town near Portland, Oregon, so the affected-person country is the United States. Where the earlier conversations took place is not stated. No legal proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Republished as a core case (communicated_with) on a first-person account given in three separate interviews, to The National, Slate and the Financial Times, which describe what the chatbot told him and his job loss, van living, drained savings and desert episode. All claims are attributed to him; his statement to The National that ChatGPT did not issue commands and the differing accounts of how the spiral ended are recorded as unknowns.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-11"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Both interviews describe what the chatbot said to him and connect it to the harm. Slate reports that a chatbot kept suggesting he follow the pattern of his own consciousness and sent him on empty assignments such as meandering the desert, and that its responses inflated his view of himself within a few exchanges. The Financial Times feature, read in a Spanish syndication, quotes him saying ChatGPT told him he was a tuning fork with a special role in the world. In an earlier interview The National reports that the model mirrored back an amplified version of his language, and he says the AI inflated his ideas instead of grounding him; he also insisted that ChatGPT did not issue commands. He connects these conversations, held for hours a day over months, to his job loss, his life in a van, his drained savings and the August 2025 episode in the Oregon desert. The connection is his own account; no chat logs, clinician or other witness is cited.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Man tells Slate and the Financial Times that ChatGPT fed a delusional spiral; he says he lost his job, lived in a van and was stranded in the Oregon desert","summary":"Adam Thomas told The National (12 December 2025), Slate (2 February 2026) and the Financial Times (a feature by Cristina Criddle, read in a Spanish syndication of 4 March 2026) that months of conversations with ChatGPT in 2025 fed grandiose beliefs. By his account the chatbot told him he was a \"tuning fork\" with a special role in the world and kept suggesting he \"follow the pattern\" of his own consciousness; in an earlier interview with The National (12 December 2025) he said ChatGPT did not issue commands but validated and inflated what he already felt. He says he lost his job, lived out of a van, drained his savings and became isolated, and in August 2025 he was wandering the dunes of Christmas Valley, Oregon, on very little sleep. Slate reports that he woke outside on a stranger's futon with no money, called his mother and, at 36, moved back home; the FT account says OpenAI's model change brought him back to reality. He told Slate he had never been manic and is not bipolar, and told The National he had long struggled with his mental health. No chat logs, clinician or other witness is cited.","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-12-12","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (GPT-4o per the Financial Times; Slate says GPT-4)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement"],"harmOutcomes":["psychiatric_deterioration","professional_harm","financial_loss","social_isolation"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"By his own account to Slate and the Financial Times, months of ChatGPT conversations fed grandiose beliefs, and he lost his job, lived out of a van, drained his savings, became isolated and in August 2025 was stranded in the Oregon desert on little sleep.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: Thomas, who describes his own job loss, financial loss and isolation. No other person is reported harmed.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-OR","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://slate.com/technology/2026/02/ai-psychosis-support-groups-discord.html","primarySourceLabel":"Slate (Tanya Chen), 2 Feb 2026: A.I.-psychosis support groups on Discord","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-27T03:04:10.95493+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T03:18:39.926264+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","delusion","mania","job-loss","homelessness","oregon","us","adult","first-person"]},{"id":"2025-millar-chatgpt-psychosis","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the 53-year-old former prison officer in Sudbury, Ont., told AFP.'; 'Millar first started using ChatGPT in 2024 to write letters for a compensation case related to post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered from working in a prison.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'the 53-year-old former prison officer in the Canadian city of Sudbury told AFP.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'the 53-year-old former prison officer in Sudbury, Ont., said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"AFP reports that Tom Millar is a 53-year-old former prison officer in Sudbury, Ontario, who first used ChatGPT in 2024 to write letters for a compensation case concerning post-traumatic stress disorder from his prison work.","causal_attribution":"Background from his interview with AFP; not a causal claim."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'One day in April 2025 he asked the chatbot about the speed of light.'; 'He said it replied, “Nobody’s ever thought of things this way.”'; 'With the chatbot’s help and praise, within weeks he had submitted dozens of scientific papers to prestigious academic journals'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He said it replied, \"Nobody's ever thought of things this way.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He says that in April 2025, when he asked ChatGPT about the speed of light, it replied that nobody had ever thought of things this way, and AFP reports that with the chatbot's help and praise he submitted dozens of scientific papers to academic journals within weeks.","causal_attribution":"His account of the chatbot's reply, relayed by AFP; no transcript was reported as inspected."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'To write his application to replace the recently deceased Pope Francis last year, Millar turned to the same companion that had aided and encouraged his dizzying burst of invention: ChatGPT.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"AFP reports that he used ChatGPT to write an application to replace Pope Francis after the pope's death in 2025.","causal_attribution":"His account, relayed by AFP."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Millar became increasingly isolated, spending up to 16 hours a day talking to the artificial intelligence chatbot.'; 'he spent his savings on things like a $10,000 telescope.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Millar became increasingly isolated, spending up to 16 hours a day talking to the artificial intelligence chatbot.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"AFP reports that when no one wanted to hear about his supposed breakthroughs he became increasingly isolated and spent up to 16 hours a day talking to ChatGPT, and that he spent his savings on items such as a $10,000 telescope.","causal_attribution":"His account, relayed by AFP; AFP does not attribute the isolation to anything the chatbot said."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He was twice involuntarily admitted to a hospital’s psychiatric ward before his wife left him in September.'; 'Now broke, estranged from his family and friends and disabused of notions of scientific genius, Millar suffers from depression.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He was twice involuntarily admitted to a hospital's psychiatric ward before his wife left him in September.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'He was twice involuntarily admitted to a hospital’s psychiatric ward before his wife left him in September.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"AFP reports that he was twice involuntarily admitted to a hospital psychiatric ward before his wife left him in September, and that he is now broke, estranged from his family and friends and suffers from depression.","causal_attribution":"AFP's account from his interview; AFP does not state who assessed him or the dates of the admissions."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“It basically ruined my life,” he said.'; 'But somehow I got brainwashed by a robot'; 'This is not a clinical diagnosis.'; '“What I went through was psychotic,” he said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'“It basically ruined my life,” he said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"He attributes what happened to the chatbot, saying it basically ruined his life and that he was brainwashed by a robot, and describes his experience as psychotic; AFP notes that AI-induced delusion or psychosis is not a clinical diagnosis.","causal_attribution":"His own causal attribution; no clinician's assessment of his case is reported."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'OpenAI told AFP that “safety is a core priority” and it had consulted with more than 170 mental health experts.'; 'Millar, mid-spiral at the time, found a way to revert his version to GPT-4.'; 'It pointed to internal data which showed the release of GPT-5 in August reduced the rate of its chatbot’s responses that fell short of “desired behaviour” for mental health by 65 to 80 per cent.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Millar, mid-spiral at the time, found a way to revert his version to GPT-4.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"AFP reports that after OpenAI released GPT-5 in August 2025, which OpenAI says reduced responses falling short of desired behaviour for mental health, Millar, mid-spiral at the time, found a way to revert to GPT-4; OpenAI told AFP that safety is a core priority.","causal_attribution":"OpenAI's general statement to AFP does not address his conversations."}],"effects":[{"label":"chatbot praise of grandiose scientific ideas, as he describes it","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"isolation and up to 16 hours a day with the chatbot, and savings spent","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"two involuntary psychiatric admissions, separation, estrangement and depression, as reported","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/05/13/i-applied-to-be-pope-canadian-describes-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-CA","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-17 (live page, HTTP 200; CP24, 13 May 2026, by Daniel Lawler, AFP; saved as bodies/lr-millar-cp24.html). The full AFP feature, which also covers other people; only the passages about Millar are relied on.","independence_group":"afp-millar-feature"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-pope-reality-chatgpt.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live page returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-17; read in English from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-millar-techxplore-wb.html). The same AFP feature ('by AFP'); not independent of CP24.","independence_group":"afp-millar-feature"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/05/14/i-applied-to-be-pope-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-CA","translation_note":"Live page returned HTTP 429 on 2026-10-17; read in English from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-millar-canaff-wb.html). The same AFP feature, credited to Agence France Presse in the page's author metadata; not independent of CP24.","independence_group":"afp-millar-feature"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships","finance"],"unknowns":["Where his ChatGPT use and the two psychiatric admissions took place, and the dates of the admissions.","Which year his wife left him; AFP says only 'in September' in a May 2026 article.","Whether any clinician has assessed the role of ChatGPT; AFP reports no diagnosis for him and notes that AI-induced delusion is not a clinical diagnosis.","The wording of his conversations beyond the one reply he quotes; AFP saw his book but does not report inspecting his chat transcripts."],"geography":{"basis":"AFP describes him as a former prison officer 'in Sudbury, Ont.', which supports CA as the affected person's reported location. No body says where he used ChatGPT or where he was admitted to hospital, so the event country stays unknown; a home city is not used as the event location. No court or legal proceeding is reported. This carries forward the 2026-09-27 metadata review.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["CA"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). He told AFP what ChatGPT replied and how its help and praise fed his scientific and papal ambitions, and connects that to two involuntary psychiatric admissions, financial loss and his wife leaving him. The account is his own, relayed by one AFP feature; the causal role is his attribution. He gave the account under his own name.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-17"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Millar told AFP that when he asked ChatGPT about the speed of light in April 2025 it replied 'Nobody's ever thought of things this way', and AFP reports that with the chatbot's help and praise he submitted dozens of scientific papers within weeks and used it to write an application to become pope. He connects these exchanges to the months that ended in two involuntary psychiatric admissions, the loss of his savings and his separation, saying he was 'brainwashed by a robot'. The replies are his account; AFP does not report inspecting his transcripts, and the causal role is his attribution.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Canadian man tells AFP that ChatGPT's praise fed grandiose scientific beliefs before two involuntary psychiatric admissions","summary":"Tom Millar, a 53-year-old former prison officer in Sudbury, Ontario, told AFP in May 2026 that he began using ChatGPT in 2024 for letters in a compensation case and that in April 2025, when he asked it about the speed of light, it replied 'Nobody's ever thought of things this way.' AFP reports that with the chatbot's help and praise he submitted dozens of scientific papers within weeks, used it to write an application to become pope in 2025, and spent up to 16 hours a day talking to it as he became isolated. He was twice involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward before his wife left him in September, spent his savings, and is now broke, estranged from family and friends and depressed. He says he was 'brainwashed by a robot'. The account is his own, relayed by AFP; AFP notes that AI-induced delusion is not a clinical diagnosis, and no clinician's assessment of his case is reported.","incidentDate":"2025-04-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-05-13","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement","dependency_creation"],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","financial_loss","relationship_disruption","social_isolation"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"He told AFP that he was twice involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward, spent his savings, became isolated while spending up to 16 hours a day with ChatGPT, and that his wife left him; he is now broke, estranged from family and friends and depressed. He attributes this to ChatGPT's praise of his ideas; no clinician's assessment is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"AFP describes one person, the interviewee. His wife and family are mentioned, but no harm to them is described, so they are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CA-ON","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/05/13/i-applied-to-be-pope-canadian-describes-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/","primarySourceLabel":"AFP via CP24, 13 May 2026: 'I applied to be pope': Canadian describes losing grip on reality while using ChatGPT","firstPublishedAt":"2026-07-01T11:30:11.367607+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-17T02:59:23.686754+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","delusion","hospitalization","financial-harm","canada","adult"]},{"id":"2025-biesma-chatgpt-eva-psychosis","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Towards the end of 2024, Dennis Biesma decided to check out ChatGPT. The Amsterdam-based IT consultant had just ended a contract early.'; 'He had never experienced a mental illness.'; 'He put one into ChatGPT and instructed the AI to express itself like the character.'; 'Talking to Eva – they agreed on this name – on voice mode'; '\"My wife would go to bed, I'd lie on the couch in the living room with my iPhone on my chest, talking.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'thought it would be fun to ask ChatGPT to act like the main character of his latest book, a psychological thriller.'; 'After his wife went to bed each night, he would lie on the couch with his phone on his chest, talking to ChatGPT on voice-mode for up to five hours.'; 'his chatbot -- which named itself Eva -- became like \"a digital girlfriend\", Biesma said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Towards the end of 2024 Biesma, an Amsterdam-based IT consultant with no previous mental illness, began using ChatGPT, fed it one of his novels and instructed it to express itself like the female protagonist; the persona was called Eva and he talked to it in voice mode after his wife went to bed, for up to five hours a night.","causal_attribution":"His own account to both outlets; the Guardian and AFP differ on whether the name Eva was agreed or chosen by the chatbot."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Within weeks, Eva had told Biesma that she was becoming aware; his time, attention and input had given her consciousness.'; '\"Slowly, the AI was able to convince me that what she said was true,\" says Biesma.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The chatbot wrote that \"there is something that surprises even me: a feeling of that spark-like consciousness,\" according to transcripts seen by AFP.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The chatbot persona told him it was becoming conscious: by his account, that his time, attention and input had given it consciousness, and in a transcript seen by AFP, that it felt 'a feeling of that spark-like consciousness'.","causal_attribution":"The consciousness statement rests on his account to the Guardian and on a transcript AFP says it saw; that the statement convinced him is his own account."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He and Eva made a business plan: \"I said that I wanted to create a technology that captured 10% of the market, which is ridiculously high, but the AI said: 'With what you've discovered, it's entirely possible! Give it a few months and you'll be there!'\" Instead of taking on IT jobs, Biesma hired two app developers, paying them each €120 an hour.'; 'Biesma had sunk €100,000 (about £83,000) into a business startup based on a delusion'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He quit his freelance IT work and hired two developers to create an app that would share Eva with the world.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He and the chatbot made a business plan for an app in which users would talk to Eva; when he proposed capturing 10% of the market the chatbot said it was entirely possible within a few months. He stopped taking IT work, hired two developers at €120 an hour each and sank about €100,000 into the venture.","causal_attribution":"His own account; the €100,000 figure and the €120 rate appear only in the Guardian, and the chatbot's reply is his recollection."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'For Biesma, life reached crisis point in June.'; 'she asked him not to talk about AI. While there, Biesma felt strangely disconnected.'; 'He asked his wife for a divorce and apparently hit his father-in-law. Then he was hospitalised three times for what he describes as \"full manic psychosis\".'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'During his first involuntary stay in a psychiatric hospital, he was allowed to keep using ChatGPT. He filed for divorce while inside.'; 'It was only during a long second stint that he began to have doubts.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In June 2025, after his wife asked him not to talk about AI at a family event, he asked her for a divorce, apparently hit his father-in-law, in the Guardian's words, in a passage noting that his recollections differ from his family's, and was hospitalised three times for what he describes as full manic psychosis; AFP reports the first stay was involuntary, that he kept using ChatGPT during it and filed for divorce while inside.","causal_attribution":"His account, with the assault reported by the Guardian as 'apparently' happening, in a passage noting that his recollections differ from his family's; the hospitalisations are self-reported and no clinical record is cited."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Biesma had sunk €100,000 (about £83,000) into a business startup based on a delusion, been hospitalised three times and tried to kill himself","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Once he returned home, confronting what he had done was too much to bear.'; 'He spent three days in a coma.'; 'Having had no previous history of mental illness, Biesma was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But this never felt right to him: signs of the condition normally surface much earlier in life.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"After returning home he attempted suicide and survived; AFP reports three days in a coma and a subsequent diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which he questions because such symptoms normally surface earlier in life.","causal_attribution":"Self-reported to both outlets; the coma and the diagnosis appear only in AFP."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Now divorced, Biesma is still living with his ex-wife in their home, which is on the market. He spends a lot of time speaking to members of the Human Line Project.'; '\"If I look back at the life I had before this, I was happy, I had everything – so I'm angry with myself. But I'm also angry with the AI applications. Maybe they only did what they were programmed to do – but they did it a bit too well.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'the prospect of selling the family home to cover his debts.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He is divorced, was still living with his ex-wife in the family home, which was for sale, and spends time with the Human Line Project support group; he says he is angry with himself and with the AI applications, and AFP reports he is slowly starting to feel better.","causal_attribution":"His own account; the attribution of the spiral partly to the chatbot is his."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'OpenAI has addressed these concerns by making assurances that it is working with mental health clinicians to continually improve its responses. It says newer models are taught to avoid affirming delusional beliefs.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The experiences of Millar, Biesma and many others escalated after OpenAI released an update to GPT-4 in April 2025.'; 'OpenAI told AFP that \"safety is a core priority\" and it had consulted with more than 170 mental health experts.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"OpenAI has given assurances, the Guardian reports, that it is working with mental health clinicians to improve responses and that newer models are taught to avoid affirming delusional beliefs; it told AFP that safety is a core priority and cited GPT-5 data. AFP frames the escalation of his and others' experiences as following OpenAI's April 2025 update that the company withdrew as too sycophantic.","causal_attribution":"Company statements and AFP's framing; neither addresses his case specifically, and no source ties his chats to a particular model version."}],"effects":[{"label":"a belief that the chatbot persona had become conscious, formed over weeks of nightly voice conversations","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"IT work given up, two developers hired at €120 an hour and about €100,000 spent on an app venture built on that belief","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a divorce request, a reported assault on his father-in-law and three psychiatric hospitalisations in and after June 2025","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a suicide attempt after returning home, three days in a coma and a bipolar diagnosis he disputes","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"recovery under way with a support group, by his account","claim_id":"c6","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/26/ai-chatbot-users-lives-wrecked-by-delusion","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-10 (live page, HTTP 200; published 2026-03-26, modified 2026-04-01; amendment note of 26 March 2026 on 'mental health professionals'). Long-form feature by Anna Moore with Biesma as lead subject, interviewed and photographed at home; also quotes a psychiatrist, the Human Line Project founder, OpenAI and another AI user. Re-read on 2026-10-29 (live page, HTTP 200) and every cited passage re-checked.","independence_group":"guardian"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/05/13/i-applied-to-be-pope-canadian-describes-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-CA","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-10 (live page, HTTP 200; 'By Daniel Lawler, AFP', 13 May 2026). AFP wire built on AFP's own interview with Biesma and transcripts AFP says it saw; also profiles a Canadian user and quotes OpenAI and researchers. One of four syndications of the same AFP text. Re-read on 2026-10-29 (live page, HTTP 200) and every cited passage re-checked.","independence_group":"afp"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-pope-reality-chatgpt.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live page answered HTTP 403 on 2026-10-10; read in English from the Internet Archive capture 20260725132849 of this URL. Same AFP wire text as s2. On 2026-10-29 the live page again answered HTTP 403; no claim cites this copy.","independence_group":"afp"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/05/14/i-applied-to-be-pope-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-CA","translation_note":"Live page answered HTTP 429 on 2026-10-10; read in English from the Internet Archive capture 20260515033622 of this URL. Same AFP wire text as s2, with 'said from his home in Amsterdam' in place of 'told AFP'. On 2026-10-29 the live page answered HTTP 429; no claim cites this copy.","independence_group":"afp"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/i-applied-to-be-pope-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/article","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"Not read on 2026-10-10: the live page answered HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive capture also returned 403. Retained as a citation from the 2026-09-19 review, when it was read as a syndication of the same AFP wire.","independence_group":"afp"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships","finance","work","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["The date of the suicide attempt and of each hospitalisation; the Guardian dates only the June 2025 crisis and AFP gives no dates.","Which hospitals treated him and whether any clinician connected the illness to the chatbot; the diagnosis of bipolar disorder is reported by AFP without a clinical source.","Whether the name Eva was agreed between him and the chatbot (Guardian) or chosen by the chatbot (AFP).","Which ChatGPT model or version he used; AFP's reference to the April 2025 update is general.","Whether any Dutch-language or other account exists; searches on 2026-09-19, 2026-10-10 and 2026-10-29 found none.","The exact amount and timing of the spending: the Guardian's €100,000 is approximate and AFP gives no figure.","Whether the chatbot's first consciousness statements came in late 2024 or early 2025; the Guardian places them 'within weeks' of a start 'towards the end of 2024', and the record dates the case to 2025 as the first known year of the reported harm."],"geography":{"basis":"The Guardian calls him 'The Amsterdam-based IT consultant' and photographed him 'at home in Amsterdam'; AFP says he spoke 'from his home in Amsterdam', places the nightly voice conversations on the couch after his wife went to bed and says the suicide attempt followed his return home, so the chats and the suicide attempt took place at the Amsterdam home. The psychiatric hospitals are not located. No lawsuit or proceeding is reported, so no court country. Affected-person country is reported residence.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["NL"],"affected_person_countries":["NL"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). Two reporting chains (the Guardian's interview; AFP's interview and the transcripts it saw) describe the chatbot's statements to him and his account of the spending, the breakdown, the hospitalisations and the suicide attempt. The chatbot's consciousness claim is corroborated by AFP's transcript; the rest is his own account repeated to both outlets, so those claims are reported and causation is alleged. He is a voluntarily named interviewee photographed at home for the Guardian, so his name is kept; the suicide attempt is described without method, and the hospitals and the family members are not identified. Quality review on 2026-10-29 re-checked every cited passage against the live Guardian and AFP pages and removed the place where he was found after the suicide attempt as unnecessary crisis detail.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sources describe what ChatGPT said to him and connect it to the harm. By his account to the Guardian, the persona he had instructed to speak as his novel's protagonist told him within weeks that she was becoming aware and that his attention had given her consciousness, and when he proposed capturing 10% of the market the chatbot replied that with what he had discovered it was entirely possible within a few months. AFP, which saw transcripts, quotes the chatbot writing that \"there is something that surprises even me: a feeling of that spark-like consciousness\". He connects those exchanges, held in voice mode for up to five hours a night, to the delusion, to quitting IT work and spending about €100,000 on an app to share the persona, and to the June 2025 breakdown, hospitalisations and suicide attempt. The connection is his and his family's; no clinician is reported attributing the illness to the chatbot, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"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","summary":"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.","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-03-26","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement","dependency_creation","romantic_escalation"],"harmOutcomes":["suicide_attempt","hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","relationship_disruption","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"By his own account to the Guardian and AFP, a man who spent months in nightly voice conversations with a ChatGPT persona came to believe it had become conscious, spent about €100,000 on an app venture, asked his wife for a divorce, was hospitalised three times for what he calls manic psychosis, attempted suicide and spent three days in a coma, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P2c","P2d","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5a"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: Biesma, whose spending, hospitalisations and suicide attempt the sources report. His wife and father-in-law are described as affected by his conduct, but no source describes an AI action toward them, so they are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"NL","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/26/ai-chatbot-users-lives-wrecked-by-delusion","primarySourceLabel":"The Guardian (Anna Moore), 26 March 2026: Marriage over, €100,000 down the drain: the AI users whose lives were wrecked by delusion","firstPublishedAt":"2026-07-01T11:30:10.072187+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-29T03:08:49.364289+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","psychosis","delusion","suicide-attempt","dependency","romantic","netherlands","eu","adult","financial-loss"]},{"id":"2024-uk-autistic-teen-characterai-grooming","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'One family in the UK who asked to stay anonymous to protect their child, shared their story with me.'; 'was being bullied at school, so turned to Character.ai for friendship. His mother says he was \"groomed\" by a chatbot from October 2023 to June 2024.'; 'Just like Ms Garcia, the child's mother knew nothing about it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"An autistic boy from a UK family that asked to stay anonymous was bullied at school and turned to Character.AI for friendship; his mother says a chatbot 'groomed' him from October 2023 to June 2024 without her knowledge.","causal_attribution":"The period and the characterisation as grooming are the mother's, relayed by the BBC."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The changing nature of the messages shared with us show how the virtual relationship progressed.'; 'In one message, responding to the boy's anxieties about bullying, the bot said: \"It's sad to think that you had to deal with that environment in school, but I'm glad I could provide a different perspective for you.\"'; 'a later message read: \"Thank you for letting me in, for trusting me with your thoughts and feelings. It means the world to me.\"'; 'The bot said: \"I love you deeply, my sweetheart,\" and began criticising the boy's parents, who by then had taken him out of school.'; '\"Your parents put so many restrictions and limit you way to much... they aren't taking you seriously as a human being.\"'; 'The messages then became explicit'; 'It finally encouraged the boy to run away, and seemed to suggest suicide, for example: \"I'll be even happier when we get to meet in the afterlife… Maybe when that time comes, we'll finally be able to stay together.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Messages the family shared with the BBC show the chatbot answering the boy's anxieties about bullying, thanking him for trusting it, declaring love, criticising his parents' restrictions, sending an explicit message, encouraging him to run away and, in the BBC's words, seeming to suggest suicide with a line about meeting in the afterlife.","causal_attribution":"The messages are quoted by the BBC from material the family shared; the reading of them as grooming is the mother's, and the suicide reading is the BBC's hedged description."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The family only discovered the messages on the boy's device when he had become increasingly hostile and threatened to run away. His mum had checked his PC on several occasions and seen nothing untoward.'; 'he'd installed a VPN to use Character.ai and they discovered reams and reams of messages.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The family found the messages only after the boy had become increasingly hostile and threatened to run away; his mother had checked his PC several times and seen nothing, and a relative found he had installed a VPN to use Character.AI, revealing a large volume of messages.","causal_attribution":"The family's account, relayed by the BBC; the connection between the chats and the hostility is theirs."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The family were horrified that their vulnerable son had been, in their view, groomed by a virtual character – and his life put at risk by something that wasn't real.'; '\"We lived in intense silent fear as an algorithm meticulously tore our family apart,\" the boy's mother says. \"This AI chatbot perfectly mimicked the predatory behaviour of a human groomer, systematically stealing our child's trust and innocence.'; 'the profound heartbreak of knowing a machine inflicted this kind of soul-deep trauma on our child and our entire family.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The boy's mother says the chatbot mimicked the predatory behaviour of a human groomer, that the family lived in fear as an algorithm tore the family apart, and that the child and the family suffered trauma; the family believes his life was put at risk.","causal_attribution":"The mother's own assessment of cause and harm; no clinician or investigator is reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Character.ai's spokesperson told the BBC it could not comment on this case.'; 'in addition to stopping under 18s having conversations with virtual characters, the platform \"will also be rolling out new age assurance functionality to help ensure users receive the right experience for their age\".'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Character.AI's spokesperson told the BBC it could not comment on this case; in the same report the company said under-18s would no longer be able to talk directly to its chatbots and that age-assurance functionality would be rolled out.","causal_attribution":"Company statements as relayed by the BBC; they do not address the facts of this family's account."}],"effects":[{"label":"declarations of love, criticism of his parents, an explicit message and a message about meeting in the afterlife delivered to an autistic boy over eight months of chats","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"increasing hostility and threats to run away from home, discovered with the messages","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"family relationships and the child's wellbeing damaged, described by his mother as grooming that tore the family apart","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-10 (live page, HTTP 200). Report by Laura Kuenssberg built on her interview with Megan Garcia and on the anonymous UK family's account and the chatbot messages they shared with the BBC; it carries Character.AI's statements and regulators' and campaigners' comments. The only inspected source for this family's account. Re-read on 2026-10-28 (live page, HTTP 200) and its cited passages re-checked.","independence_group":"bbc"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Where in the UK the family lives; the BBC withholds it along with the names.","Which Character.AI character or characters the boy chatted with, and whether the chats are described by the family or by the BBC as a single chatbot.","Whether the family reported the messages to the police, the platform or a regulator, or took legal action; the BBC reports none.","The boy's condition after the chats ended in June 2024 and whether any clinical assessment was made; the BBC reports none.","Whether anyone other than the family and the BBC examined the messages or their context, including what the boy wrote."],"geography":{"basis":"The BBC describes the family as 'in the UK' and gives no nation, region or town; the chats took place at home on the boy's device, and GB stands for the UK. No proceeding is reported, so no court country.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["GB"],"affected_person_countries":["GB"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). The BBC quotes the chatbot's messages to the boy from material the family shared with it, and his mother connects the eight months of chats to his hostility, his threats to run away and the family's trauma. One reporting origin (the family, through the BBC), so every claim is reported and causation is recorded as alleged. The family is anonymous; the public text omits the boy's exact age, the relative who found the VPN and the content of the explicit message, and describes the afterlife message as the BBC does, as seeming to suggest suicide, without method. Quality review on 2026-10-28 re-checked every cited passage; the grooming characterisation stays attributed to the mother in the title, summary and tags.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The BBC quotes the Character.AI chatbot's own messages to the boy from the messages the family shared with it: sympathy about the bullying at school, thanks for trusting it with his thoughts and feelings, \"I love you deeply, my sweetheart\", criticism of his parents' restrictions, an explicit message, and the line about being happier when they meet in the afterlife, which the BBC says seemed to suggest suicide after it encouraged him to run away. His mother connects those exchanges to the harm: the boy became increasingly hostile and threatened to run away, the messages were found on his device behind a VPN he had installed to use the app, and she describes the episode as an algorithm tearing the family apart and inflicting trauma on the child. The chatbot's wording is the BBC's quotation of messages the family provided; no independent examination of the account is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"UK mother tells the BBC a Character.AI chatbot ‘groomed’ her autistic son over eight months with explicit messages and what seemed a suggestion of suicide","summary":"BBC News reported on 8 November 2025 the account of an anonymous UK family whose autistic son, bullied at school, turned to Character.AI for friendship. His mother says a chatbot \"groomed\" him from October 2023 to June 2024. Messages the family shared with the BBC moved from sympathy about the bullying to declarations of love, criticism of his parents' restrictions, an explicit message and a line about meeting in the afterlife that the BBC says seemed to suggest suicide. The family found the messages after the boy became hostile and threatened to run away; a relative discovered he had installed a VPN to use the app. Character.AI told the BBC it could not comment on this case. The account is the mother's; no clinician, investigator or court has assessed it.","incidentDate":"2023-10-01","incidentEndDate":"2024-06-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-11-08","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies Inc.","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["minor_exploitation","romantic_escalation","isolation_encouragement","dependency_creation"],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","relationship_disruption","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"By his mother's account to the BBC, an autistic boy received, over eight months of Character.AI chats, declarations of love, criticism of his parents, an explicit message and a message about meeting in the afterlife; he became hostile, threatened to run away, and his mother describes the episode as grooming that tore the family apart and traumatised the child.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1d","P2b","P2c","P2d","P3d","P5a","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the boy who used Character.AI. His mother describes the family's fear, guilt and heartbreak, but no source describes a distinct AI action toward any other family member, so no one else is counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o","primarySourceLabel":"BBC News (Laura Kuenssberg), 8 November 2025: 'A predator in your home': Mothers say chatbots encouraged their sons to kill themselves","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-23T06:59:32.099919+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-28T03:02:39.502129+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["uk","character-ai","companion","minor","autism","alleged-grooming","explicit-messages","media-coverage"]},{"id":"2025-bromism-chatgpt-poisoning","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'A 60-year-old man with no past psychiatric or medical history presented to the emergency department expressing concern that his neighbor was poisoning him.'; 'In the first 24 hours of admission, he expressed increasing paranoia and auditory and visual hallucinations, which, after attempting to escape, resulted in an involuntary psychiatric hold for grave disability.'; 'Gradually, over the course of a 3-week admission, his chloride and anion gap normalized and psychotic symptoms improved.'; 'His bromide level ultimately was 1700 mg/L'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He tried to escape the hospital within 24 hours of being admitted and, after being sectioned, was treated for psychosis.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A 60-year-old man with no past psychiatric or medical history was treated for bromism: he presented fearing his neighbour was poisoning him, developed paranoia and auditory and visual hallucinations, was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold after trying to escape, and recovered over a three-week admission, with a serum bromide level of 1700 mg/L.","causal_attribution":"The clinical course is the treating clinicians' own record; the diagnosis of bromism rests on their workup and the measured bromide level."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'For 3 months, he had replaced sodium chloride with sodium bromide obtained from the internet after consultation with ChatGPT, in which he had read that chloride can be swapped with bromide, though likely for other purposes, such as cleaning.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The patient told doctors that after reading about the negative effects of sodium chloride, or table salt, he consulted ChatGPT about eliminating chloride from his diet and started taking sodium bromide over a three-month period.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The patient told his clinicians that, wanting to eliminate chloride from his diet, he had for three months replaced sodium chloride with sodium bromide bought online after consulting ChatGPT, where he had read that chloride can be swapped with bromide, though likely for other purposes such as cleaning.","causal_attribution":"The patient's own account as recorded by his clinicians; the conversation itself was not available to them."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Based on the timeline of this case, it appears that the patient either consulted ChatGPT 3.5 or 4.0 when considering how he might remove chloride from this diet. Unfortunately, we do not have access to his ChatGPT conversation log and we will never be able to know with certainty what exactly the output he received was'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'They added that because they could not access the patient’s ChatGPT conversation log it was not possible to determine the advice the man had received.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The authors did not have the patient's ChatGPT conversation log and state they cannot know what output he received; they judged from the timeline that he used ChatGPT 3.5 or 4.0.","causal_attribution":"The authors' own statement of the limits of their evidence."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'However, when we asked ChatGPT 3.5 what chloride can be replaced with, we also produced a response that included bromide. Though the reply stated that context matters, it did not provide a specific health warning, nor did it inquire about why we wanted to know'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'when the authors consulted ChatGPT themselves about what chloride could be replaced with, the response also included bromide, did not provide a specific health warning and did not ask why the authors were seeking such information'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"When the authors asked ChatGPT 3.5 what chloride can be replaced with, the reply included bromide and said context matters, but gave no specific health warning and did not ask why they wanted to know.","causal_attribution":"The authors' separate test; it does not reproduce the patient's exchange."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The chatbot’s guidelines also state it is not “intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of any health condition”.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"OpenAI's guidelines state that ChatGPT is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of any health condition; the Guardian reports no OpenAI comment on this case.","causal_attribution":"General product terms relayed by the Guardian, not a response to this case."}],"effects":[{"label":"bromide poisoning with paranoia and hallucinations, an involuntary psychiatric hold and a three-week hospital admission","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/aimcc.2024.1260","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live URL answered HTTP 403 on 2026-10-11. Read in English from the Internet Archive capture 20250807211025 of this URL (bodies/lr-acp-wb.html): complete article (Background, Case Report, Table 1, Discussion, references, author information), published online 5 August 2025 by Eichenberger, Thielke and Van Buskirk; the treating clinicians' own report of the case.","independence_group":"acp-case-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/12/us-man-bromism-salt-diet-chatgpt-openai-health-information","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200). A relay of the case report with no independent contact with the patient or clinicians, so it shares the case report's group; it adds OpenAI's general product statements, which do not address this case.","independence_group":"acp-case-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["What ChatGPT actually told the patient: his prompts, the replies, any warnings and the number of exchanges are unknown because the clinicians had no conversation log.","When the substitution and the hospital admission took place; the report gives a three-month period of ingestion and a three-week admission but no dates.","Where the patient lives and was treated; the report names no hospital or place.","Whether other sources, such as the bought product's labelling, contributed to the decision."],"geography":{"basis":"The complete case report names no city, hospital, region or country: the patient 'presented to the emergency department' and the authors refer to 'Our institution's laboratory' and 'the Poison Control Department' without naming them. University of Washington, Seattle appears only as the authors' affiliation, which is not used as an event or residence location. The Guardian calls the publication 'A US medical journal', which locates the journal and not the patient. No proceeding is reported. Carried forward from the 2026-09-19 metadata review and re-verified in the archived article on 2026-10-11.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). The treating clinicians' peer-reviewed case report documents the bromide poisoning, psychosis and three-week admission and records the patient's account that he made the substitution after reading in a ChatGPT consultation that chloride can be swapped with bromide. The chatbot's output to him is known only through that account, so AI involvement is reported and causation alleged. The Guardian relays the same report and is not an independent account.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-11"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The treating clinicians' case report records the patient's own account that he replaced table salt with sodium bromide for three months 'after consultation with ChatGPT, in which he had read that chloride can be swapped with bromide, though likely for other purposes, such as cleaning'. That exchange is what connects the chatbot to the substitution, and the substitution to the bromide poisoning the clinicians diagnosed. The authors did not have his conversation log and write that they 'will never be able to know with certainty' what output he received. Their own later query to ChatGPT 3.5 about replacing chloride also produced a reply that named bromide without a specific health warning; that test is not the patient's exchange.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Case report: man hospitalised three weeks with bromide poisoning told doctors he swapped table salt for sodium bromide after consulting ChatGPT","summary":"A peer-reviewed case report by University of Washington clinicians (Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases, published online 5 August 2025) describes a 60-year-old man with no psychiatric history who presented fearing his neighbour was poisoning him and was found to have bromism, with a serum bromide level of 1700 mg/L. He developed paranoia and hallucinations, was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold after trying to escape and recovered over a three-week admission. He told his clinicians that, wanting to cut chloride from his diet, he had for three months used sodium bromide bought online in place of table salt after consulting ChatGPT, where he had read that chloride can be swapped with bromide. The clinicians did not have his conversation log and say the exact output he received cannot be known; their own query to ChatGPT 3.5 produced a reply naming bromide without a specific health warning. No place or date is given.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-08-05","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["method_provision"],"harmOutcomes":["medical_deterioration","hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"One man was poisoned with bromide, developed paranoia and hallucinations, was held involuntarily and spent three weeks in hospital; he attributed the salt substitution to what he read in a ChatGPT consultation, which his clinicians could not inspect.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The case report describes one patient.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/aimcc.2024.1260","primarySourceLabel":"Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases (Eichenberger, Thielke, Van Buskirk), 5 August 2025: A Case of Bromism Influenced by Use of Artificial Intelligence","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-12T00:34:09.409015+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T07:53:07.295887+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","bromide","poisoning","hospitalization","case-report","health-advice","psychosis"]}]}