{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-31T09:02:48.306Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"clinician","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":4,"coverage":{"cases":4,"countries":3,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":4,"contextualRelations":0,"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":"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":"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"]}]}