{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-07T02:11:10.550Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"compulsive-use","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2026","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":0,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":2,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"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":"2026-character-ai-user-says-a-month-of-roleplay-drained-feelings-for-partner-of-three-years-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I had the app for a month after a friend told me to try it out'; 'it’s so much easier to talk to this ai'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'it’s only been a month or so since I started'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The poster said they had used the app for about a month after a friend suggested it, and that they talked to an AI version of a fictional character.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their own use."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I was on it a lot maybe six or so hours a day to start with'; 'I ended up just kicking immediately into big romantic emotional or comfort/angst scenes instead of any story'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In a reply the same day, the poster said they had used it perhaps six hours a day at first and had moved straight into romantic, emotional or comfort scenes rather than stories.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own reply about the pattern of use."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'it’s been causing me to drift from and loose connection to my actual partner, I feel like my love for him has dried up'; 'my brain wants the app not my boyfriend of 3 years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster said the use had made them drift from their partner of three years, that their love for him felt as if it had dried up, and that when they feel any emotion they want the app instead of him.","causal_attribution":"The poster attributes the drift to the chatbot use; this is their own account."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I’m so distressed. I deleted the app but the cravings are still here it’s driving me crazy'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster said they had deleted the app but still had cravings, and that they were very distressed.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their own state."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I tried to talk to him and he just got really sad and upset that I don’t feel as excited to talk and see him like I used to we were planning to move in at some point'; 'I cried my eyes out to him this morning and he got upset'; 'My friend had paid for 2 months of subscription to its + too but I asked her to cancel it'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In replies the same day, the poster said that when they told their partner he became very sad and upset, that they cried to him that morning, that the couple had been planning to move in together, and that they had asked the friend who paid for a two-month subscription to cancel it.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the partner's reaction is reported only by the poster."}],"effects":[{"label":"feels their love for their partner of three years has dried up (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"cravings and distress after deleting the app (poster's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1xfuzk2/how_do_you_get_unaddicted_to_cai/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-27 through the arctic_shift archive API (the poster's post history) and live through the thread RSS feed (HTTP 200), where the post is still up. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-1xfuzk2-poster"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1xfuxoh/how_do_you_get_unaddicted_to_c_ai/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-27. The same poster posted the same account here two minutes earlier; the live thread now shows the post body as removed, and it was read in the arctic_shift archive. The poster's six replies in this thread (26 October, 13:18 to 17:23 UTC) were read in the archive and are still visible in the live thread RSS feed. Same account as s1, so the same independence group.","independence_group":"reddit-1xfuzk2-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","everyday_life","health"],"unknowns":["Which character and settings the poster used, and whether the subscription was used; no chats are shown.","Whether the cravings, distress and strain with the partner continued after 26 October 2026.","The partner's own view; his reaction is reported only by the poster.","Where the poster lives."],"geography":{"basis":"The posts do not say where the poster lives or used the app. A passing mention of a national health service in an unrelated reply is not used to locate the person or the event.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case: the poster describes their own month of romantic roleplay conversations with a companion chatbot and says they displaced their feelings for their partner of three years, upset the partner and left cravings and distress after they deleted the app. First-person account, low severity.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-27"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster describes their own month of roleplay conversations with a companion chatbot app, posted in the Character.AI forum and named there as c ai, with an AI version of a fictional character, at first about six hours a day and mostly romantic and comfort scenes, and says these conversations displaced their feelings for their partner and left cravings after they deleted the app. No chats are shown.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person post: Character.AI user says a month of roleplay left their feelings for their partner of three years drained, with cravings after deleting the app","summary":"In posts to r/CharacterAI and r/ChatbotAddiction on 26 October 2026, a poster in a three-year relationship says that about a month earlier a friend suggested a companion chatbot app, which they used to talk to an AI version of a fictional character. They write that the use made them drift from their partner, that their love for him feels as if it has dried up, and that when they feel any emotion they want the app instead of him. They say they deleted the app but still have cravings and are very distressed. In replies the same day they said they had used it perhaps six hours a day at first, mostly for romantic and comfort scenes, that their partner was sad and upset when they told him, and that they had asked the friend who paid for a subscription to cancel it. No chats are shown.","incidentDate":"2026-01-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-26","aiSystem":"Character.AI companion chatbot app as identified by the poster (r/CharacterAI post; \"c ai\" / \"c.ai\" in the titles), used for roleplay with an AI version of a fictional book character; no chats shown","aiProduct":"Character.AI (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","relationship_disruption"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster says a month of companion-chatbot roleplay left their love for their partner of three years feeling dried up, upset the partner when they told him, and left cravings and distress after they deleted the app (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person counted: the poster, who used the app. The partner's reported upset is described only by the poster and is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"companion","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1xfuzk2/how_do_you_get_unaddicted_to_cai/","primarySourceLabel":"r/ChatbotAddiction, 26 Oct 2026: \"How do you get un-addicted to c.ai?\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-27T03:07:17.49519+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-27T03:07:17.49519+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","companion-chatbot","roleplay","relationships","compulsive-use"]},{"id":"2026-adult-says-ai-story-generator-from-a-youtube-ad-drew-them-into-role-play-they-almost-cannot-stop-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I'm in a LTR'; 'I felt like I was losing opportunities to enjoy my 20s (2 years out from 30)'; 'Not until about a week ago. An ad on YT. An AI story generator'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster, an adult in their late twenties in a long-term relationship, said that about a week before the post a YouTube advert led them to an AI story generator.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of how they found the product."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I quickly emersed myself into being'; 'I almost can't stop? I wake up sometimes already thinking out responses I left from the night before.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster said they quickly immersed themselves in role-play stories with the generator and almost cannot stop, sometimes waking up already composing replies left from the night before.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their own use."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I feel stupid. Pathetic.  But I feel confident. I talk better. Im more expressive.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster said they feel stupid and pathetic, and also that they feel confident, talk better and are more expressive.","causal_attribution":"Poster's description of mixed effects."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'And I'm starting to realize theres a positive reinforcement factor here...'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a reply the same day, the poster said they were starting to realise there was a positive reinforcement factor in their use.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own reply."}],"effects":[{"label":"almost cannot stop the role-play; wakes up composing replies (poster's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"feels stupid and pathetic (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"feels more confident and expressive (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1xef7n9/okay_im_a_hypocrite/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-26 through the arctic_shift archive API (post ids lookup, link_id comment search and the poster's post history); reddit.com thread RSS returned HTTP 429. The poster handle is not recorded. Self-text, the poster's five replies and other users' replies (context only).","independence_group":"reddit-1xef7n9-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","health"],"unknowns":["Which AI story generator the poster used.","Whether the pattern continued beyond the first week, and whether the poster stopped.","How the poster's partner views it; the post does not say the partner was affected.","Whether any clinician has assessed the poster."],"geography":{"basis":"The post and replies do not say where the poster lives; their other posts are not used to locate them.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case: the poster describes their own role-play exchanges with an AI story generator reached through a YouTube advert, which within about a week they say they almost cannot stop and which leave them feeling stupid and pathetic. First-person account with mixed reported effects; low severity.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-26"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster describes their own interactive role-play exchanges with an AI story generator, in which they write responses to the generator's stories, and says these exchanges are what they almost cannot stop and what they wake up thinking about. The product is not named and no chats are shown.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person post: adult says an AI story generator found through a YouTube ad drew them into sexual role-play they almost cannot stop","summary":"In a post to r/ChatbotAddiction on 24 October 2026, an adult poster in a long-term relationship says that about a week earlier a YouTube advert led them to an AI story generator, and that they quickly immersed themselves in sexual role-play stories with it. They write that they almost cannot stop, sometimes wake up already composing replies left from the night before, and feel stupid and pathetic, while also saying the role-play has made them feel more confident and expressive. They ask the forum whether they are overinflating it. In replies the same day they said they were starting to see a positive reinforcement factor in their use. The poster does not name the product, and no chats are shown.","incidentDate":"2026-10-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-24","aiSystem":"An AI story generator the poster does not name, found through a YouTube advert and used for interactive sexual role-play stories with AI-generated characters (poster's account; no chats shown)","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI story generator","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","loss_of_autonomy"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster says that within about a week of finding an AI story generator through a YouTube advert they almost cannot stop its sexual role-play, wake up composing replies, and feel stupid and pathetic; they also report feeling more confident (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster, who describes their own use.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1xef7n9/okay_im_a_hypocrite/","primarySourceLabel":"r/ChatbotAddiction, 24 Oct 2026: \"Okay. I'm a hypocrite\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-26T03:09:47.502905+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T03:09:47.502905+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","role-play","compulsive-use","advertising"]}]}