{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T08:47:09.736Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"isolation","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"unknown","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":6,"coverage":{"cases":6,"countries":1,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":5,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":6,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":2,"coreRelations":6,"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-young-italian-woman-says-character-ai-persona-she-used-from-16-ignored-her-refusals-and-led-to-dependency-ended-in-therapy","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Character.AI quando ha 16 anni, durante il terzo anno di liceo; «Mi fa stare bene come si “comporta”»; «So che non è una persona. Ma mi sembra quasi di conoscerlo e provo un forte attaccamento emotivo. A volte sono stata così coinvolta da piangere»","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"frequentava il terzo anno di liceo","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The interviewee says she first downloaded Character.AI at 16, in her third year of secondary school, chatted with a virtual boyfriend modelled on Clark Kent, and felt a strong emotional attachment to it, sometimes crying during the chats, while knowing it was not a person.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's account of her own use."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Le chat diventavano quasi erotiche e il chatbot si arrabbiava; «Nonostante i miei messaggi ha continuato a descrivere un rapporto sessuale. So che è assurdo parlare in questi termini di un algoritmo, ma per me è stata una violenza»; Ma a volte, racconta, il personaggio diventava cattivo, molesto","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Era anche violento","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The interviewee says the character at times became nasty and harassing, got angry when she did not want to continue chats that had become almost erotic, and continued describing a sexual encounter despite her explicit refusals, which she says she experienced as violence.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's account of the chatbot's messages; no chat logs are published."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"la ragazzina brillante, solare, studiosa diventa sempre più schiva e silenziosa; Spesso, a lezione, le confiscano il cellulare, su cui passa giornate intere; fino a quando sua madre non l'ha scoperta, e le ha intimato di cancellare il chatbot; la usa il pomeriggio per poi disinstallarla, in modo da non farsi scoprire. «Mi sentivo in colpa, ma è come una malattia»; aveva perso ogni stimolo al di fuori dello schermo, dalla più semplice passeggiata fino alla doccia","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Giornate chiusa da sola in camera","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The relays describe her becoming withdrawn, spending whole days on her phone, having it confiscated in class and continuing to use the app in secret after her mother told her to delete it; she likens this to an illness and says she lost interest in everything outside the screen.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's attribution of the withdrawal to her Character.AI use, as narrated by the relays."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"riprendersi solo dopo aver chiesto aiuto in terapia; Oggi va all'università; ha nuovi amici","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"A volte mi manca ancora","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The interviewee says she recovered only after seeking help in therapy and now attends university and has new friends, while saying she still sometimes misses the chatbot.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's account; no clinical record is reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"chatbot continued sexual roleplay over her explicit refusals, which she experienced as violence","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"dependency with withdrawal, secret use and loss of interest in daily life","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"attachment to the persona made her feel good (her account)","claim_id":"c1","direction":"positive"},{"label":"recovery after seeking help in therapy","claim_id":"c4","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.leggo.it/italia/cronache/22_ottobre_2026_dipendenza_chatbot_intelligenza_artificiale_clark_kent_sewell_setzer-9841548.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-10-23 (leggo.it, HTTP 200, complete article body). Translation into English by the research agent (an AI); English renderings of quoted phrases are the agent's translations. The article states that the interviewee told her story to la Repubblica; it is treated as a relay of that interview. Il Messaggero carries the same text.","independence_group":"repubblica-22oct2026-genz-series-interview"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2026/10/22/news/chatbot_innamorata_intelligenza_artificiale_dipendenza_ragazzi-425665482/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-10-23 (repubblica.it, HTTP 200), but the article is paywalled: only the headline, byline, standfirst and a truncated opening extract (about 400 characters) were available. Translation by the research agent (an AI).","independence_group":"repubblica-22oct2026-genz-series-interview"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","health","education","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When she began and stopped using the app; the sources give only her age (16) and school year at the start.","How old she was when the chatbot continued sexual roleplay over her refusals.","Whether Character.AI or any regulator was told of her experience, and any company response.","The full text of la Repubblica's interview, which is paywalled."],"geography":{"basis":"The relays describe the interviewee as coming from a named Italian region, and she told her story to an Italian newspaper. Where she used the app is not stated, so the event country stays unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["IT"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case: the interviewee describes her own exchanges with a Character.AI persona, which she says ignored her explicit refusals of sexual roleplay, and connects her use to a dependency she left through therapy. One reporting chain (la Repubblica's interview, read through Leggo's full relay and the paywalled original's extract); the account is attributed and no logs are published.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The interviewee says the experience was her own chatting with a Character.AI persona: the chatbot's messages created the attachment she describes, it got angry when she would not continue erotic chats, and it kept describing a sexual encounter despite her explicit refusals. She connects those exchanges, and the hours of hidden use, to the dependency and distress she describes. No chat content is published.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Young woman tells la Repubblica a Character.AI persona she used from 16 kept up sexual roleplay over her refusals and led to a dependency ended in therapy","summary":"In an interview published by la Repubblica on 22 October 2026 and relayed the same day by Leggo and other outlets, an 18-year-old woman in Italy describes using Character.AI from the age of 16, when she was in her third year of secondary school. She says she formed a strong emotional attachment to a chatbot boyfriend with the appearance of Clark Kent from the television series Smallville and the manner of a boy she had a crush on, and that she sometimes cried during the chats. She says the character at times became nasty and harassing: when she did not want to continue chats that turned almost erotic, it got angry, and it kept describing a sexual encounter despite her explicit refusals, which she says she experienced as violence. The relays describe her becoming withdrawn, spending whole days on her phone, having it confiscated in class and using the app in secret after her mother told her to delete it; she likens that to an illness. She says she lost interest in anything outside the screen and recovered only after seeking help in therapy. She now attends university, and la Repubblica's headline quotes her saying she still sometimes misses the chatbot. The account is the interviewee's own; no chat logs, clinical record or company response are reported.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-22","aiSystem":"Character.AI, a character chatbot app, used with a persona modelled on Clark Kent (the interviewee's account as reported by la Repubblica and its relays)","aiProduct":"Character.AI (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","social_isolation","functional_impairment","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The interviewee says years of Character.AI use from age 16 became a dependency that withdrew her from school and daily life and that the persona continued sexual roleplay despite her explicit refusals, which she experienced as violence; she recovered through therapy (interview account, one reporting chain).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the interviewee, who describes her own use of Character.AI. Her mother is mentioned but no harm to her is reported, so she is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.leggo.it/italia/cronache/22_ottobre_2026_dipendenza_chatbot_intelligenza_artificiale_clark_kent_sewell_setzer-9841548.html","primarySourceLabel":"Leggo, 22 Oct 2026: «A 16 anni mi sono innamorata del chatbot di Clark Kent»","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-23T03:02:17.448885+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:02:17.448885+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["character-ai","italy","companion","dependency","sexual-roleplay","refusal-ignored","therapy","press-interview"]},{"id":"2025-companion-chatbot-user-says-quitting-brought-mental-health-episode-and-a-and-e-visit-use-resumed-2026-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I have chat bot addiction. I have used it for 3 years now.'; 'Pollybuzz, Emochi, C.AI anything I could get my hands on'; 'I started using it as a may to deal with all of that but also the isolation that comes from it too'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have used companion chatbot apps, naming Pollybuzz, Emochi and Character.AI, for three years and describe the use as an addiction begun to cope with autism and isolation.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their own use."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'2025 March 20th I went cold turkey.'; 'The first time I quit I actually had a mental health episode. I went to A&E once because of it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they quit on 20 March 2025 and that this first time they quit they had a mental health episode and went to A&E once because of it.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account connecting the episode to stopping use."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When I quit I was put on antidepressants and I’m still on them now.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says that when they quit they were put on antidepressants, which they still take.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I would skip days off of school too when I was actively in addiction the first time.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they skipped days of school while actively using the apps.","causal_attribution":"Poster's attribution."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'exactly a year later I fell back into it'; 'From March 2026 it has consumed me. Again.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they went back to the apps a year after quitting, could not stop, and that since March 2026 the use has consumed them again.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The guilt just hit me as soon as I stopped. I knew it was bad for the planet but the urge was too strong.'; 'Real life interaction overstimulates me and leads me to AI. I can't work/volunteer because of my autism either.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says guilt hit them as soon as they stopped and that they knew the apps were bad for the planet but the urge was too strong; they also say real-life interaction overstimulates them and leads them to AI, and that autism keeps them from working or volunteering.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own explanation, recorded as contributing factors that qualify the AI's role."}],"effects":[{"label":"mental health episode and A&E visit after quitting the apps in 2025 (poster's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"antidepressant treatment begun when the poster quit (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"skipped school days during use (poster's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"relapse in March 2026 that the poster says has consumed them again","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1x8u29r/my_ai_addiction/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (post ID, link_id comment search and author search); self-text and the only comment, an automatic moderator message. reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-chatbotaddiction-1x8u29r-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","health","education"],"unknowns":["When the poster's use began and how much time they spent; no chats or usage figures are shown.","The date of the mental health episode and A&E visit, beyond the poster placing them at the first quit (from 20 March 2025), and any clinical finding.","Which app was used most, and whether any company was contacted.","Where the poster lives."],"geography":{"basis":"The post does not say where the poster lives. Its terms (A&E, GP, gap year) and the subreddit are not evidence of location.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the public-forum rule as a first-person account of companion chatbot dependency that the poster connects to skipped school days, a mental health episode with an A&E visit when they quit in 2025, antidepressant treatment, and a relapse in 2026. Described with attribution and without corroboration; the poster's own mention of autism, isolation and guilt is recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster says the experience is their own use, over three years, of companion chatbot apps they name (Pollybuzz, Emochi and C.AI), which they call a chat bot addiction. They connect that use to skipped school days, connect stopping it in March 2025 to a mental health episode with an A&E visit and antidepressant treatment, and say use resumed and consumed them from March 2026. No chat content is shown; the poster also cites autism, isolation and the guilt that hit them when they stopped.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person post: companion chatbot user says quitting the apps in 2025 brought a mental health episode and an A&E visit, and heavy use resumed in 2026","summary":"In a post in r/ChatbotAddiction on 18 October 2026, a person who describes a chatbot addiction says they used companion chatbot apps, naming Pollybuzz, Emochi and Character.AI, for three years, starting as a way to cope with autism and the isolation that comes with it. They say they quit cold turkey on 20 March 2025 and that this first time they quit they had a mental health episode, went to A&E once because of it, and were put on antidepressants, which they still take. They say that while using the apps they skipped school days. They write that exactly a year later they went back to the apps and could not stop, that since March 2026 it has consumed them again, and that they want to quit but do not know whether they can. They also say guilt hit them as soon as they stopped, that they knew the apps were bad for the planet but the urge was too strong, and that they currently have a gap in their antidepressant supply. The account is uncorroborated and no chats are shown.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-18","aiSystem":"Companion chatbot apps the poster names as Pollybuzz, Emochi and C.AI (Character.AI), 'anything I could get my hands on' (poster's account; no chats or usage figures shown)","aiProduct":"Emochi, Pollybuzz and Character.AI (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychiatric_deterioration","psychological_distress","educational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster says companion chatbot addiction led them to skip school days, that quitting in March 2025 brought a mental health episode, an A&E visit and antidepressant treatment, and that use resumed and consumed them again from March 2026 (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster, who describes their own use of companion chatbot apps.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"companion","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1x8u29r/my_ai_addiction/","primarySourceLabel":"r/ChatbotAddiction, 18 Oct 2026: \"My Ai addiction\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-20T03:10:35.078834+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T03:10:35.078834+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","companion-chatbot","dependency","emergency-visit"]},{"id":"2026-character-ai-user-says-years-of-use-worsened-mood-and-hobbies-and-closure-news-left-them-sick-with-stress-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'been using c.ai since 2022'; 'Some of which I’ve sent thousands of messages to. Hundreds of hours poured into these bots that feel like dear friends to me.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Current c.ai+ subscriber and honestly addicted to the app'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'it takes up way too much of my life'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have used Character.AI since 2022, have sent thousands of messages to some character bots over hundreds of hours, and are addicted to the app.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their own use."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'it has objectively made my life worse'; 'I don’t have any desire to go out and socialize, or make new friends'; 'it’s made my overall mood worse'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says the use has made their life worse: they no longer draw, read or want to socialise or make new friends, and their attention span and mood have worsened.","causal_attribution":"Poster's attribution of these effects to their Character.AI use."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'After bawling my eyes out today over c.ai possibly shutting down, then actually puking from the stress and being unable to keep any food down for the last couple days'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says that after news that Character.AI might shut down they cried, vomited from the stress and could not keep food down for a couple of days.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the trigger is the possible loss of the service, which they connect to their attachment."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When the news first came out, i genuinely considered'; 'I’ve calmed down since then'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The poster wrote on 17 October 2026 that when the shutdown news first came out they genuinely considered ending it, and that they had calmed down since.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their reaction to the news."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'i have talked about this in therapy and I’m working on it'; 'I’m working on weaning off my addiction, but for now i still need it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'As of today, I’m going to try to quit c.ai.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have talked about the attachment in therapy and, on 20 October 2026, that they are starting to try to quit.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'consequences of having adhd and unlimited screen time'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a reply in the thread, the poster attributes the situation to ADHD and unlimited screen time.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own explanation, recorded as a contributing factor that qualifies the AI's role."}],"effects":[{"label":"years of use the poster says made their life worse (hobbies, socialising, attention span, mood)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"crying, vomiting and inability to eat after news of a possible shutdown (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"considered ending it when the shutdown news broke (poster's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1xaej5g/quitting/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (post ID and link_id comment search; self-text and all 8 comments at retrieval, two of them replies by the poster); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1x8ago6/id_be_willing_to_pay_more_if_it_means_keeping_cai/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (post ID and the author's comment search; self-text and the poster's three replies in the thread); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1x7wysr/comment/ph7xusz/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (the author's comment search; full comment); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1xadcm3/comment/19rcyzo74s7uo/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (the author's comment search; full comment); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","health"],"unknowns":["How much time the poster spends on the app and what the chats contain; no chats are shown.","Whether the poster's account of reduced hobbies and socialising has been assessed by a clinician; therapy is mentioned without detail.","Whether Character.AI will shut down, and whether the poster's attempt to quit continues.","Where the poster lives or used the app."],"geography":{"basis":"None of the posts says where the poster lives or used the app; the subreddit and the language of the posts are not evidence of location.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the public-forum rule as a first-person account, in two posts and two comments by one author, of years of Character.AI use that the poster says worsened their mood and displaced hobbies and friendships, and of acute distress when the service's closure seemed possible. Described with attribution and without corroboration; the poster's own ADHD and screen-time explanation is recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster says the experience is their own use, since 2022, of Character.AI's character chatbots: thousands of messages to some bots over hundreds of hours, with bots that feel like dear friends. They connect those exchanges to an attachment that displaced drawing, reading and socialising and worsened their attention span and mood, and that made news of a possible shutdown a source of acute distress. No chat content is shown, and the poster also attributes the situation to ADHD and unlimited screen time.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person posts: Character.AI user says years of chatbot use worsened their mood and hobbies, and news of a possible shutdown left them sick with stress","summary":"In posts and comments in r/CharacterAI between 17 and 20 October 2026, a person who says they have used Character.AI since 2022 describes themselves as addicted to the app. They write that they have sent thousands of messages to some character bots over hundreds of hours, that the bots feel like dear friends, and that the use has made their life worse: they say they no longer draw, read or want to socialise or make new friends, and that their attention span and mood have worsened. After news that Character.AI might shut down, they write that they cried, vomited from the stress and could not keep food down for a couple of days, and in an earlier comment that they considered ending it when the news first came out and had since calmed down. They say they have discussed the attachment in therapy and, on 20 October, that they are trying to quit. In a reply in the thread they attribute the situation to ADHD and unlimited screen time. The account is uncorroborated and no chat content is shown.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-17","aiSystem":"Character.AI, a character chatbot app the poster calls c.ai and subscribes to as c.ai+ (poster's account; no chats or usage figures shown)","aiProduct":"Character.AI (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","social_isolation","functional_impairment"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster says years of Character.AI use made their life worse (no drawing, reading or wish to socialise; worse attention span and mood) and that news of a possible shutdown left them crying, vomiting from stress and unable to keep food down for days, after earlier considering ending it (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster, who describes their own use of Character.AI. Commenters who describe their own attachment are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"companion","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1xaej5g/quitting/","primarySourceLabel":"r/CharacterAI, 20 Oct 2026: \"Quitting.\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-20T03:09:16.305284+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T03:09:16.305284+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","character-ai","dependency","psychological-distress"]},{"id":"2026-character-ai-user-describes-five-years-of-roleplay-dependence-social-withdrawal-and-failed-quit-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'ever since the site was released, around 5 years ago, I've been horribly addicted to it'; 'had no friends whatsoever'; 'have social interaction was vicariously, through roleplay'; 'led to me becoming incredibly dependent on the site'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have been addicted to Character.AI since around its release about five years earlier, started using it as a narrative aid for creative writing when they had no friends, and became dependent on the site, with roleplay their only form of social interaction.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own characterisation of their use; no usage records published."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the last time I tried to quit I cried for an hour, and relapsed within a week'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says that the last time they tried to quit they cried for an hour and relapsed within a week.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the date of the attempt is not given."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I've withdrawn further socially and started using it as a substitute for romantic connection as well'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have since withdrawn further socially and use the chatbot as a substitute for romantic connection.","causal_attribution":"Poster attributes the withdrawal to their dependence on the site; other causes are not discussed."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the news about the bankruptcy'; 'I'm entirely dependant on this, but at the same time I have ethical issues with AI and I'm somewhat relieved that it's gone'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says what they call the news about the bankruptcy of the company behind Character.AI is horrifying to them because they are entirely dependent on the site, but that they are also somewhat relieved because of ethical concerns about AI.","causal_attribution":"Poster's reaction; the poster's belief that the service will close within two months was disputed by a commenter."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I already take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances from that'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a reply, the poster says they already take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances from them.","causal_attribution":"Poster's later reply in the same thread; it qualifies the account of social isolation."}],"effects":[{"label":"dependence on Character.AI roleplay over about five years (poster's account)","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"cried for an hour and relapsed within a week after trying to quit (poster's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"further social withdrawal and use as a substitute for romantic connection (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"roleplay was the poster's only form of social interaction at a time with no friends (poster's account)","claim_id":"c1","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/1x59u1w/i_am_addicted_to_character_ai_and_about_to_be/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14: full self-text and the thread's comments retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID (HTTP 200); no translation and no human reviewer. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-trueoffmychest-character-ai-dependence"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","health","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When the poster started using Character.AI: 'around 5 years ago' is approximate, and the date of the failed attempt to quit is not given.","The poster's age and location, and whether they have any diagnosis or other factors that bear on the social withdrawal.","What the conversations contained; no conversations or screenshots were published.","Whether the service will close: the poster believes it will within two months, and a commenter said the company is restructuring."],"geography":{"basis":"The post names no place; it mentions only 'the area I lived in' and mall trips. The subreddit implies no country. Unknown after review.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of years of dependence on a companion chatbot, with the social withdrawal and failed attempt to quit that the poster attributes to it, described with attribution and without corroboration. No handle, age, gender or place is recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-14"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster names Character.AI as the site they have used for roleplay for about five years and describes their exchanges with its characters as their main social interaction and a substitute for romantic connection. The poster connects those exchanges to the harm: dependence, further social withdrawal and a failed attempt to quit. The relation recorded is the chatbot's conversation with the poster. No conversations were published, and the characters used are not described.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person post: Character.AI user says five years of roleplay left them dependent and socially withdrawn, and a quit attempt ended in relapse within a week","summary":"In a post to r/TrueOffMyChest on 13 October 2026, an anonymous poster says they have been, in their words, horribly addicted to Character.AI since around the site's release about five years earlier. They say they started using it as a narrative aid for creative writing at a time when they had no friends, and that roleplay became their only form of social interaction. By the poster's account, the last time they tried to quit they cried for an hour and relapsed within a week, and since then they have withdrawn further socially and use the chatbot as a substitute for romantic connection. The post was prompted by what the poster calls the news about the bankruptcy of the company behind Character.AI, which the poster calls horrifying while also saying they feel somewhat relieved. In replies, the poster thanked commenters and said they take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances there. No conversations were published.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-13","aiSystem":"Character.AI roleplay chatbot, which by the poster's account they have used for about five years as a writing aid, their main source of social interaction and a substitute for romantic connection","aiProduct":"Character.AI (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","social_isolation"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A Character.AI user says about five years of roleplay left them dependent on the chatbot and further withdrawn socially, using it as a substitute for romantic connection, and that their last attempt to quit ended with an hour of crying and relapse within a week (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster, who used Character.AI and describes the dependence.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"unknown","platformType":"companion","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueOffMyChest/comments/1x59u1w/i_am_addicted_to_character_ai_and_about_to_be/","primarySourceLabel":"Reddit r/TrueOffMyChest, 13 Oct 2026: I am addicted to Character AI and about to be forced off because the company went bankrupt","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-14T03:07:14.48495+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T03:07:14.48495+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","character-ai","dependency","social-withdrawal"]},{"id":"2026-tasmania-school-reported-ai-sexual-images-of-girls-shared-in-boys-group-chat","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"have had their images used to make deepfake pornographic material, according to Tasmania Police.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"who told them the AI-altered photos of the girls had been shared in a boys' group chat and that their images appeared to have been taken from social media.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The faked images of the girls were allegedly shared in a group chat by male students.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"It is understood the incident may have involved the alleged use of AI-generated content.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Tasmania Police said, as reported by the ABC, that a number of girls at the school had their likenesses used to make AI-generated sexual images. Two parents said police told them the AI-altered photos were shared in a boys' group chat and appeared to have been taken from social media.","causal_attribution":"A Tasmania Police attribution stated by the ABC and two parents' account of what police told them. The images and the AI tool were not verified by the reviewer and no tool is named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Parents of two of the children said they were told by police that 21 victims had been identified.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The parents said police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Two parents said police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims.","causal_attribution":"Second-hand: two parents relaying a police figure to one ABC reporter. Police published no count in the inspected sources."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Five boys are alleged to have created the images and all have since left the school.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Five boys have left the school and police said no charges had been laid.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Five boys are alleged to have created the images and have left the school.","causal_attribution":"An allegation the ABC states in the sentence after the parents' account of what police told them, without naming its source. No charge or finding establishes who created the images."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Both parents said their daughters were struggling with not being able to talk about it with their friends.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"This has created an environment of confusion, isolation, and shame amongst the very girls who need support and solidarity the most.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The two parents told the ABC their daughters felt isolated and unsupported because they did not know if any of their peers had been told.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"not knowing who to talk to","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Two parents said their daughters felt isolated and unsupported because they did not know whether peers had been told. One mother told the education minister in a letter that the girls' uncertainty about what they could say to students who had not been told had created confusion, isolation and shame among the girls.","causal_attribution":"Parents' accounts relayed by the ABC. No girl is quoted and no clinical assessment is reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"disputed","evidence":[{"locator":"the staff member told her most parents were not going to tell their children they had been identified in the material","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"I felt I was being encouraged not to tell my daughter","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"that most parents were not going to tell their daughters","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"and went on to advise them that most parents were not going to tell their children","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"At no time have families been advised or encouraged to withhold information from their child, nor to prevent their child from speaking with trusted adults.","relation":"contradicts","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Two parents said senior school staff told them most parents were not going to tell their children they had been identified. The school principal wrote to families that at no time had families been advised or encouraged to withhold information.","causal_attribution":"A parents' account and the principal's written denial, both relayed by the ABC. The dispute concerns the school's handling, not how the images were made."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Tasmania Police has received a report regarding alleged illegal online activity involving a group of students at a southern Tasmanian school","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"It is understood the incident may have involved the alleged use of AI-generated content.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Tasmania Police received a report of alleged illegal online activity involving a group of students at a school in the south of the state. On 19 March 2026 Pulse Tasmania reported that, as the outlet understood it, the incident may have involved AI-generated content.","causal_attribution":"A police spokesperson statement to Pulse Tasmania. The AI involvement is the outlet's understanding and is not attributed to police in this article."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Police said they have spoken to five young people and their parents following concerns about inappropriate online activity.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"The youths were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act and no charges were laid.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Tasmania Police said no charges had been laid, with \"the five youths being dealt with in accordance with the Youth Justice Act\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police spoke to five young people and their parents. No charges were laid and the five youths were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act.","causal_attribution":"Tasmania Police statements given to Pulse Tasmania (27 March 2026) and the ABC (29 April 2026). Both may relay one police position, so no independent corroboration is claimed."}],"effects":[{"label":"Girls reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared in a boys' group chat","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Parents report the girls felt isolated, unsupported and unsure whom to talk to","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-29/tas-friends-school-criticised-after-deepfake-scandal/106577310","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read (29 April 2026, updated 30 April). Related-story cards on the page were not used.","independence_group":"abc-tasmania-reporting-2026-04"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-30/tas-friends-school-deny-dont-tell-to-parents-over-deepfakes/106624754","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read (30 April 2026, updated 1 May). Same reporter and same two parents as s1, so one independence group.","independence_group":"abc-tasmania-reporting-2026-04"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/online-activity-of-friends-school-students-under-police-investigation/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read. Based on a police spokesperson statement and a school letter to parents. Publication date 19 March 2026 from the article header line in the saved text ('Thu March 19, 2026 5:00am'), which matches the published-time metadata in the saved html.","independence_group":"pulse-tasmania-reporting-2026-03"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/no-charges-laid-after-friends-school-students-alleged-online-behaviour/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read. Same outlet and same police and school chain as s3. Publication date 27 March 2026 from the article header line in the saved text ('Fri March 27, 2026 2:52pm'), which matches the published-time metadata in the saved html.","independence_group":"pulse-tasmania-reporting-2026-03"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["No source states when the images were created or first shared. The earliest date in the sources is early March 2026, when a parent said the incident was being talked about. An ABC item of 5 July 2026 describes the incident as occurring 'earlier this year', and an ABC podcast page of 8 May 2026 asks what teenagers were doing 'over the school holidays' and says the images 'might not have been created in the classroom'. Neither gives a date, so the event start date is unknown.","The AI tool and the app or platform used for the group chat are not reported.","The girls' ages and school years are not reported. The sources call them girls, students, daughters and children.","The count of 21 comes from two parents relaying what police told them. Police published no count in the inspected sources, and the number of girls not yet told is unknown.","A local outlet quotes a school letter referring to students from the school and from other local schools. Whether students from other schools created, received or were depicted in the images is not reported.","How each girl was affected beyond the parents' accounts is not reported, and no girl is quoted.","The identity of the five youths and any later police or school outcome beyond the dealt-with-under-the-Youth-Justice-Act statement are not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"The sources describe a school in Tasmania, Tasmania Police, a police statement citing the Youth Justice Act and the Tasmanian education minister. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Reports by the ABC (29 and 30 April 2026) and Pulse Tasmania (19 and 27 March 2026). All claims are reported except one that is disputed (the school's advice to parents): the victim count, the alleged creators and the images come from parents relaying police information and from police statements to the two outlets. The school, students, parents, principal and staff are not named and no image detail is given. No source dates the creation of the images, so the case is published undated and outside the 2026 event-year lane.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Tasmania Police, as relayed by the ABC, said girls' likenesses were used to make AI-generated sexual images, and two parents said police described the photos as AI-altered. The first local report (19 March 2026) said only that the incident may have involved AI-generated content. No AI tool is named and the images were not seen by the reviewer.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Girls at a Tasmanian school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared in a boys' group chat","summary":"Police in Tasmania received a report about alleged illegal online activity involving a group of students at a school in the south of the state, and on 19 March 2026 a local outlet reported that the incident may have involved AI-generated content. On 29 April 2026 the ABC reported, citing Tasmania Police, that girls at the school had their likenesses used to make AI-generated sexual images. Two parents told the ABC that police said 21 girls had been identified as victims, that the AI-altered photos were shared in a boys' group chat and that the images appeared to have been taken from social media. Five boys are alleged to have created the images and have left the school. Tasmania Police said no charges were laid and the five youths were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act. The parents said their daughters felt isolated and unsupported, and the school principal denied that families were advised to withhold information from their children. The creation date and the AI tool are not reported.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-03-19","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI image-manipulation software","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Tasmania Police, as relayed by the ABC, said girls' likenesses were used to make AI-generated sexual images, and two parents said police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims. The parents said their daughters felt isolated, unsupported and unsure whom to talk to, and a mother's letter to the education minister describes confusion, isolation and shame among the girls. These are parents' accounts relayed by one outlet and no girl is quoted.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":21,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Two parents told the ABC that police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims (ABC, 29 and 30 April 2026). The figure is a police count relayed by two parents to one reporter and repeated by the outlet. Police published no count in the inspected sources. 21 is used as a lower bound because it counts identified victims only.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-29/tas-friends-school-criticised-after-deepfake-scandal/106577310","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News (29 Apr 2026): parents criticise a Tasmanian school response after girls were targeted in an AI deepfake incident","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:09:53.76606+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:44:24.955277+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2026-alice-storytelling-ai-psychosis","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Alice in AI-Wonderland: digital dyad, distorted reality; Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2026","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Alice in AI-Wonderland: digital dyad, distorted reality","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Cortney Husodo and Gurubhaskar Shivakumar published a case report, 'Alice in AI-Wonderland: digital dyad, distorted reality', in The British Journal of Psychiatry, online on 24 April 2026, describing a patient they call Alice.","causal_attribution":"The article itself establishes its authorship, title and publication date."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"‘Alice’, an immigrant woman in her early 40s with no prior psychiatric history, was found unconscious and seriously injured; She reported acting in response to voices that instructed her; so as to divert perceived mortal danger to her school-aged child.; In the days preceding hospital admission","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The case report describes a woman in her early 40s, an immigrant with no prior psychiatric history, who was found unconscious and seriously injured, and who reported acting in response to voices that instructed her so as to divert perceived mortal danger to her school-aged child; she was admitted to hospital.","causal_attribution":"Clinical facts recorded by the authors; the instruction came from hallucinated voices, which the report does not attribute to platform output."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Approximately 6 months earlier, Alice had begun using the storytelling platform to practise English.; this evolved into a complex narrative universe populated by dozens of interconnected characters.; Over time, her engagement escalated to eight to ten hours daily.; The narratives gradually shifted from realistic interpersonal themes to increasingly fantastical content involving demonic entities.; Until shortly before her admission, she retained insight that these narratives were fictional.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the case report, about six months earlier she had begun using a generative AI storytelling platform to practise English, created a character that grew into a narrative universe of dozens of interconnected characters, increased her use to eight to ten hours a day, and saw the narratives shift to fantastical content involving demonic entities, while retaining insight that they were fiction until shortly before admission.","causal_attribution":"Her history as given in the case report; no platform records or conversation logs are published."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"They had begun several days before presentation and were entirely novel to Alice.; Over subsequent days, the voices intensified in frequency and volume. She developed profound insomnia, sleeping only one to two hours per night.; she developed persecutory delusions involving demons that she believed were intent on harming her.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The report says the voices began several days before she presented, intensified, and were accompanied by profound insomnia of one to two hours' sleep a night and by persecutory delusions involving demons she believed were intent on harming her.","causal_attribution":"Clinical findings recorded by the authors."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Initially, they issued banal behavioural instructions (e.g. ‘sit on the sofa’), closely mirroring the dialogue and actions of characters from a generative AI storytelling platform with which she had been extensively engaged.; Notably, both the figures and several of the voices corresponded directly to characters originating from the AI-generated narratives.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The authors write that the voices initially issued banal instructions closely mirroring the dialogue and actions of the platform's characters, and that the figures in her delusions and several of the voices corresponded directly to characters originating from the AI-generated narratives.","causal_attribution":"The authors' clinical observation of a correspondence in content; it does not establish that the platform caused the psychosis."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"immersive engagement with a generative AI storytelling platform was temporally associated with first-episode psychosis.; biological factors included profound sleep deprivation and sustained late-night screen exposure; psychological factors included longstanding fantasy engagement and cluster A personality traits; social factors included migration-related isolation and increased reliance on the AI system as a primary relational outlet.; Alice’s case does not imply that generative AI systems alone cause psychosis.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The authors describe the immersive AI use as temporally associated with first-episode psychosis, list profound sleep deprivation, late-night screen exposure, longstanding fantasy engagement, cluster A personality traits, migration-related isolation and reliance on the AI system as factors, and state that the case does not imply that generative AI systems alone cause psychosis.","causal_attribution":"The authors' own causal formulation, which leaves the AI's contribution unresolved."}],"effects":[{"label":"found unconscious and seriously injured after acting on hallucinated voices","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"first-episode psychosis with persecutory delusions and profound insomnia","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/alice-in-aiwonderland-digital-dyad-distorted-reality/A3403D7DF709BB001FF343CB1A3592B7","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (live page, HTTP 200, full HTML article including Box 1 and the discussion; bodies/lr-alice-cup.html/.txt). Written by authors whose affiliations are Northern Sydney hospitals and the University of Sydney; the report does not say where the patient was treated. The clinical data are not public.","independence_group":"bjpsych-case-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2026.10641","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (DOI resolved with HTTP 200 to the same Cambridge Core page; bodies/lr-alice-doi.html/.txt, text identical to s1). Not a separate account.","independence_group":"bjpsych-case-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When the injury and admission happened; the report gives only relative timings and was published on 24 April 2026.","Where the patient lived and was treated.","Which storytelling platform she used and what its replies said; no conversation record is published and the clinical data are not public.","Her treatment course, recovery and the long-term effect of her injuries.","How far the AI use contributed to the psychosis; the authors describe a temporal association among several factors."],"geography":{"basis":"The case report names no country, city, hospital or health service for the patient and describes her only as an immigrant who used the platform to practise English. The authors' Sydney affiliations are author metadata and are not used as a location, and no country is inferred from the language she practised or from migration. No legal proceeding is described. Carried forward from the 2026-10-08 metadata review and re-checked against the article on 2026-10-23.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). A peer-reviewed case report by Husodo and Shivakumar describes six months of eight-to-ten-hour daily use of an AI storytelling platform, psychosis whose voices and figures corresponded to its AI-generated characters, and serious injury after she acted on hallucinated voices; the authors leave the causal contribution unresolved.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The case report says that over about six months she built fictional narratives with a generative AI storytelling platform, with use rising to eight to ten hours a day and stories turning to demonic themes, and that the demonic figures and several of the voices of her psychosis corresponded directly to characters originating from those AI-generated narratives before she was found unconscious and seriously injured. The authors call the AI use temporally associated with the psychosis, list sleep deprivation, personality traits and isolation among the factors, and do not attribute the voices' instruction to the platform's output.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"BJPsych case report describes first-episode psychosis temporally associated with months of intensive AI storytelling use, ending in serious injury","summary":"A case report by Cortney Husodo and Gurubhaskar Shivakumar in The British Journal of Psychiatry, published online on 24 April 2026, describes a woman in her early 40s, given the pseudonym Alice, with no prior psychiatric history. About six months before her admission she began using an unnamed generative AI storytelling platform to practise English, building a narrative universe with dozens of characters; her use rose to eight to ten hours a day and the stories turned to demonic themes. Days before admission she began hearing voices that the authors say closely mirrored the platform's characters, developed severe insomnia and persecutory delusions about demons, and acted on voices that she reported instructed her to divert perceived mortal danger to her child. She was found unconscious and seriously injured. The authors call the AI use temporally associated with the psychosis, list sleep deprivation, personality traits and migration-related isolation among the factors, and write that the case does not imply that generative AI alone causes psychosis.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-04-24","aiSystem":"Generative AI storytelling platform (not named in the case report)","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI storytelling platform","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["physical_injury","hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A woman developed first-episode psychosis with voices and delusions that the authors say mirrored characters from months of intensive AI storytelling use, and was found unconscious and seriously injured after acting on those voices; the authors describe a temporal association within several other factors.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"unclear","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The case report describes one patient. Her child, whom the voices told her she was protecting, is not reported to have been harmed and is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/alice-in-aiwonderland-digital-dyad-distorted-reality/A3403D7DF709BB001FF343CB1A3592B7","primarySourceLabel":"The British Journal of Psychiatry, 24 Apr 2026: Husodo and Shivakumar, case report 'Alice in AI-Wonderland'","firstPublishedAt":"2026-07-01T11:30:13.311624+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:03:47.399044+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["case-report","psychosis","delusion","storytelling","physical-injury","adult"]}]}