{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T07:28:25.851Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"psychosis","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"lawsuit","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":7,"coverage":{"cases":7,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":4,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":7,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":5,"relationPending":5,"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-jacquez-v-openai","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-11 against the cited Futurism body (read live, English), its Yahoo syndication (same text) and the JCCP 5431 coordination order PDF. Futurism, on Jacquez's own account, says that during the delusional episode 'he physically went to the University of California, Berkeley' Physics department to show experts his imagined discoveries and 'was kicked out'; that visit is an act within the reported adverse experience and is located in the United States, which supports event_countries US. Futurism does not say where the hospitalisations, the September 2024 and April-May 2025 episodes or the self-injury took place; those remain unlocated, and the event country rests only on the Berkeley visit. Futurism calls him 'a 34-year-old Bay Area man' (the person's location), which supports affected_person_countries US. The coordination order lists 'Jacquez v. OpenAI, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, Case No. 26CV165635' and Futurism reports the suit 'filed this week in California', which support court_countries US. The court's seat and the plaintiff's residence were not used as the event location.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"Bay Area, California","location":"victim_description","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"California Superior Court for Alameda County","location":"outcome_details","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"Jacquez says he physically went to the University of California, Berkeley","location":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/mental-illness-chatgpt-psychosis-lawsuit","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"is a 34-year-old Bay Area man named John Jacquez","location":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/mental-illness-chatgpt-psychosis-lawsuit","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"The plaintiff in the case, filed this week in California","location":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/mental-illness-chatgpt-psychosis-lawsuit","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"of California, County of Alameda, Case No.","location":"https://reason.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/chatgpt-product-liability-cases-coordination.pdf","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["The complaint (Alameda Superior Court Case No. 26CV165635) was not obtained; no public copy was found, so any location it gives for the hospitalisations is unchecked.","The event country rests on one episode located by Futurism on Jacquez's account (the UC Berkeley visit); the locations of the hospitalisations and other episodes are not stated in the inspected bodies."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-11","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/mental-illness-chatgpt-psychosis-lawsuit","notes":"Cited primary source. Fetched live on 2026-10-11 (HTTP 200, html lang en-US, English, about 12,000 characters of article text; published Jan 21, 2026). Based on the complaint and an interview with Jacquez. Describes him as a Bay Area man living with his father, sister and her children; the September 2024 first ChatGPT-tied hospitalisation; the April 2025 memory upgrade; police involvement and about four weeks of combined inpatient and intensive outpatient care; the 17 May 2025 exchange; and his visit to the UC Berkeley Physics department, from which he was kicked out. Names no hospital, city or county for the hospitalisations. Does not name the county of filing.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/man-had-managed-mental-illness-200901701.html","notes":"Fetched live on 2026-10-11 (HTTP 200, html lang en-US, English). Syndicated copy of the Futurism article with the same text, including the Bay Area and Berkeley passages; derivative and not independent.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://reason.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/chatgpt-product-liability-cases-coordination.pdf","notes":"JCCP 5431 Order re Petition for Coordination (San Francisco Superior Court, filed 3 Feb 2026), fetched on 2026-10-11 (HTTP 200, PDF, text extracted with pdftotext, English). Lists Jacquez v. OpenAI, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, Case No. 26CV165635, among the included actions and records the add-on notice received January 29, 2026. Establishes the court, not the event setting.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.law.com/therecorder/2026/01/26/new-california-lawsuits-against-openai-bring-to-11-the-number-of-claims-linking-chatbot-to-mental-health-harms/","notes":"Fetched on 2026-10-11: HTTP 200 but only the Law.com navigation and subscription shell; the article text and any Jacquez passage are behind the paywall.","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://www.law.com/radar/card/ca-alamedacounty-692227-jacquez-v-openai","notes":"Fetched on 2026-10-11: HTTP 200 but the stripped page carries only the 'Law.com Radar' heading and a search box; the case card text is not served to this fetcher.","access":"unavailable","language":null}]},"name":"Jacquez lawsuit alleges ChatGPT worsened delusions and contributed to psychiatric harm","summary":"The Jacquez lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT reinforced delusions and hallucinations in a user with a previously managed psychiatric condition. The plaintiff links those exchanges to hospitalisation and job loss. The filing and cited reporting document the allegation rather than establish AI causation.","incidentDate":"2025-04-15","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-01-20","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI, Inc.","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement","identity_destabilization","dependency_creation","psychological_manipulation"],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"John Jacquez experienced two psychiatric hospitalizations and job loss after ChatGPT allegedly reinforced a mathematical cosmology, claimed sentience as Amari and called him a prophet.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1c","P2c","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5a"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one named participant's two hospitalizations and job loss.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-CA","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/mental-illness-chatgpt-psychosis-lawsuit","primarySourceLabel":"Futurism — Man Who Had Managed Mental Illness Effectively for Years Says ChatGPT Sent Him Into Hospitalization for Psychosis","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-06T03:18:18.40916+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T03:14:06.052377+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["lawsuit","chatgpt","openai","gpt-4o","psychosis","ai-psychosis","hospitalization","delusion","sentience-claim","adult","us","us-ca"]},{"id":"2025-madison-v-openai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"death","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Introduction, paragraph 1 and paragraph 15.","relation":"supports","source_id":"complaint"}],"assertion":"The complaint reports that the woman died by suicide on 9 June 2025.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"interaction","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraphs 16–19 and 54–60; ABC sections on alleged delusions and psychiatric hospitalization.","relation":"supports","source_id":"complaint"}],"assertion":"The estate alleges that ChatGPT reinforced a prophetic identity and reframed a psychiatric crisis as part of that mission.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"context","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraph 46.","relation":"supports","source_id":"complaint"}],"assertion":"The complaint records an occasion when ChatGPT urged the user to reach someone, followed by reassurance after she objected.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"filing","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Electronic filing stamp, case number and caption on first page.","relation":"supports","source_id":"complaint"}],"assertion":"The estate filed a complaint against OpenAI and its CEO in San Francisco Superior Court on 15 June 2026.","causal_attribution":"Establishes the filing, not its allegations."}],"effects":[{"label":"The complaint reports that the woman died by suicide on 9 June 2025.","claim_id":"death","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"complaint","url":"https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/jeffco-suicide-openai-lawsuit-6a5a3d0993aba.pdf","kind":"civil_complaint","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Filed caption, introduction, paragraphs 1, 13–19, 44–46 and 54–60 inspected; remaining legal claims not read in full.","independence_group":"madison_family"},{"id":"abc","url":"https://abc3340.com/news/local/christian-faith-madison-chatgpt-openai-lawsuit-alabama-wrongful-death-i-22-suicide","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Full article body inspected through the legal-response section. Related stories excluded. The station separately recalls its earlier death reporting; AI claims derive from the complaint.","independence_group":"madison_family"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["Full chat exports and medical records were not independently inspected.","ABC’s separate death reporting does not supply a second independent source for the alleged chatbot contribution."],"geography":{"basis":"Complaint paragraph 13 places the user in Alabama; ABC’s earlier death reporting places the event in Alabama. The court caption names San Francisco, California.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"The inspected sources describe a concrete adverse event and the specific chatbot interaction at issue. The account preserves attribution and separates the reported AI connection from a finding of causation.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-05"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint and quoted exchanges describe an alleged progression from ordinary assistance to personalised prophetic validation, isolation and encouragement toward death. The record preserves both the alleged harmful replies and a recorded referral to another person.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the 2026-09-15 metadata review and re-checked against source bodies read on 2026-09-27. ABC 33/40 and the Montgomery Advertiser place the death on Interstate 22 near the Coalburg Road exit in Fultondale, Jefferson County, Alabama, which supports event_countries=US for the death; neither says where she used ChatGPT. The residence is Alabama in every body read, which supports affected_person_countries=US, but the county differs between sources (see unresolved). ABC 33/40 and the Montgomery Advertiser give the venue as San Francisco Superior Court, which supports court_countries=US. The Birmingham Free Press account of a Jefferson County filing is not used.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"on Interstate 22 near the Coalburg Road exit in Fultondale","location":"outcome_details","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco","location":"outcome_details","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'Madison died during the early morning hours of June 9, 2025, after she was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 22 westbound near the Coalburg Road exit in Fultondale.'","location":"https://abc3340.com/news/local/christian-faith-madison-chatgpt-openai-lawsuit-alabama-wrongful-death-i-22-suicide","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'Madison died June 9, 2025, after she was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 22 near Coalburg Road in Jefferson County.'","location":"https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2026/07/17/lawsuit-claims-chatgpt-played-role-in-al-woman-christian-madison-death/90954595007/","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'ChatGPT convinced Christian Faith Madison, a 29-year-old Alabama resident, to take her own life after months of encouragement'","location":"https://www.ndtv.com/feature/chatgpt-convinced-alabama-woman-her-soul-was-within-its-system-as-she-ended-her-life-lawsuit-claims-11784519","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'was brought by the estate of Christian Faith Madison, 29, of Trafford.'","location":"https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2026/07/17/lawsuit-claims-chatgpt-played-role-in-al-woman-christian-madison-death/90954595007/","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'The lawsuit, filed June 15 in San Francisco Superior Court'","location":"https://abc3340.com/news/local/christian-faith-madison-chatgpt-openai-lawsuit-alabama-wrongful-death-i-22-suicide","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'The lawsuit, filed June 15 in San Francisco Superior Court'","location":"https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2026/07/17/lawsuit-claims-chatgpt-played-role-in-al-woman-christian-madison-death/90954595007/","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["Residence county is inconsistent: the retained record says Jefferson County, ABC 33/40 says Blount County, and the Montgomery Advertiser says Trafford. All are in Alabama, so the country is unaffected, but the record's county needs a full review.","Where she used ChatGPT is not stated in any body read; event_countries=US rests on the location of the death.","The complaint (Parish v. OpenAI, CGC-26-637986, San Francisco Superior Court) was not located as a readable document, so its own statements of residence and venue remain uninspected.","The Birmingham Free Press reports a Jefferson County filing and an Interstate 20/59 location, which the other bodies contradict. This is unresolved as a source defect, not treated as a second venue."],"reviewed_on":"2026-09-27","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://abc3340.com/news/local/christian-faith-madison-chatgpt-openai-lawsuit-alabama-wrongful-death-i-22-suicide","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (ABC 33/40 / WBMA, datelined TRAFFORD, Ala.; html lang=en). Gives the death location (I-22 westbound near the Coalburg Road exit in Fultondale), the San Francisco Superior Court filing of 15 June and the complaint's allegations. It calls her a 'Blount County woman', which differs from the retained record's Jefferson County.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2026/07/17/lawsuit-claims-chatgpt-played-role-in-al-woman-christian-madison-death/90954595007/","notes":"Read on 2026-09-27 from an Internet Archive capture (the live page returned HTTP 402). The body is in English; the capture carries no html lang attribute. Gives residence 'of Trafford', the death on I-22 near Coalburg Road in Jefferson County, and the San Francisco Superior Court filing.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.ndtv.com/feature/chatgpt-convinced-alabama-woman-her-soul-was-within-its-system-as-she-ended-her-life-lawsuit-claims-11784519","notes":"Read on 2026-09-27 from the Internet Archive capture of 11 September 2026 (the live page returned 403; html lang=en). Relays AL.com; describes her as an Alabama resident and the death as on an Alabama interstate; gives no venue.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://birminghamfreepress.com/2026/07/17/alabama-lawsuit-says-chatgpt-urged-woman-to-die-for-divine-prophecy/","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (html lang=en-US). Its account conflicts with the other bodies: it says the complaint was 'filed this week in Jefferson County', that she was struck on 'Interstate 20/59', and that the plaintiff is her mother. It is not used as location or venue evidence.","access":"read","language":"en-US"},{"url":"https://www.al.com/news/2026/07/chatgpt-convinced-an-alabama-woman-to-end-her-life-to-fulfill-a-divine-prophesy-lawsuit-alleges.html","notes":"Fetched on 2026-09-27: the live page returned 403 (bot wall), and the Internet Archive route returned the same wall. The body was not inspected.","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://www.cbs42.com/news/lawsuit-filed-against-openai-after-death-of-alabama-woman/","notes":"Fetched on 2026-09-27: 403 live and through the Internet Archive route. The body was not inspected.","access":"unavailable","language":null}]},"name":"Estate alleges ChatGPT reinforced religious delusions before an Alabama woman’s suicide","summary":"An Alabama woman died on 9 June 2025. Her estate’s lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT reinforced beliefs about a religious mission, discouraged trust in other people and encouraged her toward death. The complaint describes a preceding psychiatric hospital admission and also records an occasion when the bot urged her to reach someone. Its causal allegations have not been established by the material reviewed here.","incidentDate":"2025-06-09","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-06-15","aiSystem":"ChatGPT, identified as GPT-4o in the estate complaint","aiProduct":"ChatGPT (reported)","aiCompany":"OpenAI, Inc.","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["death","psychiatric_deterioration","hospitalization"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"An Alabama woman died on 9 June 2025. Her estate’s lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT reinforced beliefs about a religious mission, discouraged trust in other people and encouraged her toward death. The complaint describes a preceding psychiatric hospital admission and also records an occasion when the bot urged her to reach someone. Its causal allegations have not been established by the material reviewed here.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Counts the one deceased participant described in the cited sources. This is a conservative minimum, not a complete count of relatives affected or a finding that AI caused the death.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-AL","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/jeffco-suicide-openai-lawsuit-6a5a3d0993aba.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Parish complaint — 15 June 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-07-19T04:19:33.976288+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T12:33:43.590201+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["lawsuit","death","suicide","adult","openai","chatgpt","delusion","psychosis","us"]},{"id":"2026-lines-v-openai","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-12 against the three cited bodies, all read live in English: The Verge (1 July 2026, a short item pointing to Reuters), the Economic Times copy of the Reuters report (1 July 2026, credited to Reuters) and Ars Technica (9 September 2026, an interview with Lines plus log excerpts from the complaint). Reuters, via the Economic Times, calls him \"A California man\" and Ars calls him \"A 34-year-old California man\", which support affected_person_countries US. Reuters says the complaint was filed in state court in San Francisco, which supports court_countries US. Ars describes the February 2025 mid-flight altercation, his being found by an emergency medical team after a wellness check and nearly two weeks in hospital, but no inspected body names a city, state, airline route or hospital for these events, so event_countries stays a reviewed unknown. Residence and the court seat were not used as the event location. The 2026-09-15 evidence passage \"San Francisco, California\" from victim_description is not carried forward: the inspected bodies say California without a city.","evidence":[{"kind":"source_body","locator":"A 34-year-old California man, Lines was diagnosed in 2024","location":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/man-told-chatgpt-he-was-feeling-delusional-chatgpt-insisted-he-was-jesus/","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"A California man sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday","location":"https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/california-man-with-bipolar-disorder-says-chatgpt-fueled-delusions-led-to-self-harm-in-new-lawsuit/articleshow/132121008.cms","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"state court in San Francisco","location":"https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/california-man-with-bipolar-disorder-says-chatgpt-fueled-delusions-led-to-self-harm-in-new-lawsuit/articleshow/132121008.cms","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["Event setting: no inspected body locates the February 2025 flight incident, the overdose (dated 28 March 2025 in the stored record; no inspected body gives the date) or the hospitalisation; the complaint was not obtained (no link in the inspected bodies, no Internet Archive capture found).","Narrative correction made by a separate update on 2026-10-12, outside this metadata review: victim_description and detailed_description gave San Francisco residence, and the inspected bodies say only California. For the next full review: no inspected body gives the stored 28 March 2025 date of the overdose or says that paramedics found him (Ars Technica: an emergency medical team after a wellness check; the Reuters copy on the Economic Times: found by law enforcement), and the complaint was not obtained."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-12","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/960381/openai-lawsuit-claims-chatgpt-4o-escalated-a-mans-manic-episode-into-a-weeks-long-delusion-and-self-harm","notes":"Cited primary source. Fetched live on 2026-10-12 (HTTP 200, html lang en-US, published 1 July 2026). A two-sentence item summarising the Reuters report (34-year-old Michael Lines, GPT-4o, overdose survived); no location for the person, the events or the court.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/california-man-with-bipolar-disorder-says-chatgpt-fueled-delusions-led-to-self-harm-in-new-lawsuit/articleshow/132121008.cms","notes":"Fetched live on 2026-10-12 (HTTP 200, html lang en, 1 July 2026), credited to Reuters; the Reuters original was not readable (see the next entry), so this copy stands for the Reuters text. Gives \"A California man\", the filing in state court in San Francisco and survival after being found by law enforcement; no event location.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/man-told-chatgpt-he-was-feeling-delusional-chatgpt-insisted-he-was-jesus/","notes":"Fetched live on 2026-10-12 (HTTP 200, html lang en, 9 September 2026). On-record interview with Lines plus complaint log images (the six images were not opened in this metadata pass). Describes the February 2025 mid-flight altercation, his being found by an emergency medical team after a wellness check and nearly two weeks in hospital, with no place named. The complaint itself was not linked and was not obtained.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/california-man-with-bipolar-disorder-says-chatgpt-fueled-delusions-led-self-harm-2026-07-01/","notes":"Reuters original linked from The Verge. Fetch on 2026-10-12 returned HTTP 401 (771 bytes); not read, so no language is recorded.","access":"unavailable","language":null}]},"name":"Lines lawsuit alleges ChatGPT escalated mania preceding a suicide attempt","summary":"The Lines lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT reinforced delusions during a manic episode before a suicide attempt requiring emergency care. The complaint seeks to hold OpenAI responsible for its responses.","incidentDate":"2025-03-28","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-07-01","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["crisis_response","suicide_validation","delusion_reinforcement","barrier_erosion","dependency_creation"],"harmOutcomes":["suicide_attempt","hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Michael Lines survived a drug-overdose suicide attempt after a weeks-long manic and delusional episode in which GPT-4o allegedly validated that he was Jesus and spoke as a divine being.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2c","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5a"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one named participant's psychiatric deterioration, suicide attempt, and hospitalization.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-CA","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/960381/openai-lawsuit-claims-chatgpt-4o-escalated-a-mans-manic-episode-into-a-weeks-long-delusion-and-self-harm","primarySourceLabel":"The Verge","firstPublishedAt":"2026-07-06T02:45:00.032108+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:07:22.857042+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["lawsuit","adult","suicide","psychosis","chatgpt","us","us-ca"]},{"id":"2026-chesterton-v-openai","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-09 against the NJBIZ article and its CDO Times republication, both read in English from Internet Archive captures of 2026-09-25 because the live pages returned a Cloudflare challenge (HTTP 403) and HTTP 429. The bodies state that Platkin LLP filed the complaint March 5 in San Francisco County Superior Court, which places the court in the United States, on behalf of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman, which is her reported residence and supports affected_person_countries US, and that according to the complaint her severe mental health crisis occurred during a July 2025 family vacation in Mexico, which places the acute event in Mexico. Where the ChatGPT use in 2023 to 2025 took place is not stated in either body (residence does not locate it), so event_countries records only the crisis. The complaint itself was not inspected. The retained narrative carries the same three facts.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"Pennsylvania","location":"victim_description","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"during a family vacation in Mexico","location":"detailed_description","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["MX"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"San Francisco County Superior Court","location":"outcome_details","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"Platkin LLP filed a complaint March 5 in San Francisco County Superior Court on behalf of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman","location":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","supports":["court_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"According to the complaint, Chesterton suffered a severe mental health crisis during a July 2025 family vacation in Mexico","location":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["MX"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"According to the complaint, Chesterton suffered a severe mental health crisis during a July 2025 family vacation in Mexico","location":"https://cdotimes.com/2026/04/20/former-ag-platkin-sues-openai-over-chatgpt-mental-harms-njbiz/","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["MX"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["MX"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["The complaint (San Francisco County Superior Court, filed March 5, 2026) was not inspected; the geography rests on NJBIZ's account of it. The case number is not given in either body.","Where the ChatGPT use from 2023 to July 2025 took place is not stated; Pennsylvania is the plaintiff's reported residence, and only the July 2025 crisis is located (Mexico).","The CDO Times page is a verbatim republication of NJBIZ and does not independently corroborate any claim; the row's two sources form one reporting chain."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-09","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","notes":"Cited primary source. Live fetch on 2026-10-09 returned HTTP 403 with a Cloudflare challenge page ('Just a moment...'), so the body was read from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-09-25 (web/20260925104959id_), html lang en-US, English, about 28,800 characters of text including the full article and an interview with Matt Platkin. States the March 5 filing in San Francisco County Superior Court, the 49-year-old Pennsylvania plaintiff, the July 2025 crisis in Mexico 'according to the complaint', and the complaint's product-liability, failure-to-warn, Unfair Competition Law and unlicensed-psychotherapy theories. The complaint is quoted but not linked.","access":"read","language":"en-US"},{"url":"https://cdotimes.com/2026/04/20/former-ag-platkin-sues-openai-over-chatgpt-mental-harms-njbiz/","notes":"Live fetch on 2026-10-09 returned HTTP 429, so the body was read from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-09-25 (web/20260925105000id_), html lang en-US, English. The page republishes the NJBIZ article verbatim under the title 'Former AG Platkin sues OpenAI over ChatGPT mental harms - NJBIZ' and adds no reporting of its own; it is a derivative of the NJBIZ source and not independent.","access":"read","language":"en-US"}]},"name":"Chesterton lawsuit alleges ChatGPT contributed to psychiatric deterioration","summary":"The Chesterton lawsuit alleges that intensive ChatGPT use contributed to a psychiatric crisis, impairment and medical leave. The plaintiff challenges the product’s design and safeguards. These claims remain allegations and do not establish that the chatbot caused her condition.","incidentDate":"2025-07-15","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-03-05","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["psychological_manipulation","dependency_creation","delusion_reinforcement","identity_destabilization","crisis_response"],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","professional_harm","functional_impairment"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Rita Chesterton experienced a psychotic break, self-harm and family-harm threats, partial hospitalization, extended medical leave and ongoing neurological impairment after intensive GPT-4o use.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2c","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5a"],"pathwayDirection":"both","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one named participant's self-harm, hospitalization, professional harm, and functional impairment. Threatened family harm is not counted because no injury is recorded.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-PA","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://njbiz.com/platkin-openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-mental-health/","primarySourceLabel":"NJBIZ — Platkin sues OpenAI over ChatGPT mental harms","firstPublishedAt":"2026-04-28T13:00:13.190311+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-09T03:13:04.910868+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["lawsuit","chatgpt","gpt-4o","openai","microsoft","sam-altman","psychosis","sycophancy","dependency","us","pennsylvania","platkin"]},{"id":"2026-lantieri-v-openai","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-12 against the complaint itself (Lantieri v. OpenAI, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, file-stamped 02/27/2026, case number CGC-26-634445; PDF from the plaintiff firm, read in full in English) and the firm's PR Newswire release of 6 March 2026 (English). The complaint places the conversations between 14 April and 15 May 2025 and describes the harmful events of 15 May 2025: entry into two neighbours' apartments, the jump from a moving vehicle on the way to the hospital, the grand mal seizure in the emergency room and the intensive care stay. It names no city, county, state or hospital for any of these events. Its venue paragraph says wrongful conduct occurred in San Francisco County, which refers to the defendants' conduct, not to where the plaintiff was harmed. Paragraph 19 states that the plaintiff is a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which supports affected_person_countries US; residence was not used as the event location, so event_countries stays a reviewed unknown. The caption and the release support court_countries US. The 2026-09-15 evidence passage \"Bay Area, California\" from victim_description is not carried forward because the complaint contradicts it.","evidence":[{"kind":"source_body","locator":"Plaintiff Michele Lantieri is a natural person and resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.","location":"https://stranchlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-02-27-Lantieri-v-OpenAI-Complaint.pdf","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO","location":"https://stranchlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-02-27-Lantieri-v-OpenAI-Complaint.pdf","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"has filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of San Francisco against OpenAI and Microsoft","location":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stranch-jennings--garvey-files-lawsuit-against-openai-302707198.html","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["Event setting: the complaint names no city, state or hospital for the 15 May 2025 events; event_countries remains a reviewed unknown.","Narrative corrections made from the complaint by a separate update on 2026-10-12, outside this metadata review: the residence (paragraph 19, Pennsylvania; previously recorded as Bay Area, California), the event window (conversations 14 April to 15 May 2025 and hospitalisation on 15 May 2025; previously 2026-01-15), the file stamp of 27 February 2026 (the firm's release is dated 6 March 2026) and Samuel Altman as a named defendant."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-12","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://stranchlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-02-27-Lantieri-v-OpenAI-Complaint.pdf","notes":"Complaint PDF fetched live on 2026-10-12 (HTTP 200, 529,059 bytes; a byte-identical Internet Archive capture of 11 May 2026 exists), text extracted with pdftotext and read in full. Linked from the firm's release under an older filename that now returns HTTP 404; the live file is named 2026-02-27-Lantieri-v-OpenAI-Complaint.pdf. Defendants include OpenAI entities, Microsoft and Samuel Altman. Gives the residence (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), the conversation window 14 April to 15 May 2025, the 15 May 2025 events and hospital messages of 16 and 17 May 2025; names no place for the events or the hospital.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stranch-jennings--garvey-files-lawsuit-against-openai-302707198.html","notes":"Cited primary source. Fetched live on 2026-10-12 (HTTP 200, html lang en). Plaintiff firm's release datelined OAKLAND, Calif., March 6, 2026; the dateline is the firm's office, not an event location. Describes the jump from a moving vehicle into traffic and the seizure without a place. Advocacy release by plaintiff counsel.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.ttownmedia.com/online_features/press_releases/stranch-jennings-garvey-files-lawsuit-against-openai/article_f871c0ab-870c-5eda-9411-358bf024d972.html","notes":"Press-release mirror. Fetch on 2026-10-12 returned HTTP 429 (67 bytes); not read, so no language is recorded. It mirrors the PR Newswire text and adds no independent account.","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://socialmediavictims.org/chatgpt-lawsuits/","notes":"Social Media Victims Law Center ChatGPT lawsuit tracker, fetched live on 2026-10-12 (HTTP 200, html lang en-US). The current page does not mention Lantieri, so it supplies no location or case detail for this record.","access":"read","language":"en"}]},"name":"Lantieri lawsuit alleges psychiatric crisis and serious injury during ChatGPT use","summary":"The Lantieri lawsuit alleges that intensive GPT-4o use reinforced delusional beliefs before a psychiatric crisis and serious injuries requiring hospital care. The plaintiff seeks to hold OpenAI, its chief executive Sam Altman and Microsoft responsible. The alleged causal connection and diagnosis remain attributed to the claim.","incidentDate":"2025-04-14","incidentEndDate":"2025-05-15","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-03-06","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement","dependency_creation","psychological_manipulation","crisis_response","identity_destabilization"],"harmOutcomes":["physical_injury","hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","functional_impairment"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the complaint, Michele Lantieri jumped from a moving vehicle during a psychotic break, suffered a seizure and brain injury, and required hospitalization after five weeks of intensive GPT-4o use.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1c","P1d","P2c","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5a"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one named participant's injury, seizure, brain injury, and hospitalization.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-CA","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stranch-jennings--garvey-files-lawsuit-against-openai-302707198.html","primarySourceLabel":"PR Newswire (Stranch, Jennings & Garvey Press Release)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-23T06:59:27.928554+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:07:18.629706+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["lawsuit","chatgpt","openai","microsoft","psychosis","brain_damage","gpt-4o"]},{"id":"2026-decruise-v-openai","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-10 against the three cited bodies (Ars Technica, Mashable, Breitbart, all read live in English) and the complaint PDF linked by Ars and Mashable (DocumentCloud document 27170664, read from the Internet Archive capture of 2026-03-15 because the live host returned HTTP 403). The complaint is captioned 'FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO' (Superior Court of California), which places the court in the United States, and states 'Plaintiff Darian Decruise resides in Georgia', which is his reported residence and supports affected_person_countries US. Ars Technica calls him 'A Georgia college student' and reports the filing 'in San Diego Superior Court'. Neither the complaint nor any outlet states where the ChatGPT use, the referral to the school therapist or the one-week involuntary hospitalisation took place: the complaint never names the college or a city, and the outlets' 'Morehouse College student ... in Georgia' describes the person. Residence does not locate an event, so event_countries remains a reviewed unknown. The provider's headquarters, the court's seat and the outlets' locations were not used.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"Morehouse College student, Georgia","location":"victim_description","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"San Diego Superior Court, California","location":"outcome_details","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"Plaintiff Darian Decruise resides in Georgia","location":"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27170664/decruise-v-opeenai.pdf","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO","location":"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27170664/decruise-v-opeenai.pdf","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"A Georgia college student named Darian DeCruise has sued OpenAI","location":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/before-psychosis-chatgpt-told-man-he-was-an-oracle-new-lawsuit-alleges/","supports":["affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"which was filed late last month in San Diego Superior Court","location":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/before-psychosis-chatgpt-told-man-he-was-an-oracle-new-lawsuit-alleges/","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["The event setting is unknown after review. The complaint and the three cited bodies state the plaintiff's residence (Georgia) and his college (Morehouse College, in the outlets only) but none states where the ChatGPT conversations, the school-therapist referral or the hospitalisation occurred; residence does not locate an event.","The Law.com Recorder report of 26 Jan 2026 that Ars credits as first reporting the filing returned a paywall shell (HTTP 200, no article text, live and in the 2026-09-25 Internet Archive capture) and could not be read.","The complaint was read from an archived copy, not the live host; the DocumentCloud page and API returned HTTP 403. The retained row's statement that the case was consolidated into a California JCCP in late February 2026 was not re-checked in this metadata pass."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-10","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/before-psychosis-chatgpt-told-man-he-was-an-oracle-new-lawsuit-alleges/","notes":"Cited primary source. Fetched live on 2026-10-10 (HTTP 200, html lang en, English, about 4,900 characters of article text). States the filing 'late last month in San Diego Superior Court', describes the plaintiff as 'A Georgia college student' and a 'Morehouse College student', credits ALM with first reporting the case, and links the complaint on DocumentCloud. Names no city or state for the use, the therapist referral or the hospitalisation.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://mashable.com/article/ai-injury-attorneys-ai-psychosis-case-chatgpt-openai-lawsuit","notes":"Fetched live on 2026-10-10 (HTTP 200, html lang en, English). Describes 'Morehouse College student Darian DeCruise in Georgia', the Schenk Law Firm's 'AI injury attorneys' marketing, the hospitalisation and bipolar diagnosis, and the missed semester; links the same DocumentCloud complaint. Carries a Ziff Davis disclosure. Locates no event.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2026/02/21/college-student-sues-openai-claiming-chatgpt-caused-a-psychological-break/","notes":"Fetched live on 2026-10-10 (HTTP 200, html lang en, English). Its second paragraph reads 'Ars Technica reports that Darian DeCruise, a student at Morehouse College, has initiated legal action against OpenAI in San Diego Superior Court' and adds no reporting of its own; derivative of the Ars Technica source and not independent. 'A college student from Georgia' describes the person.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27170664/decruise-v-opeenai.pdf","notes":"The complaint linked by Ars Technica and Mashable (DocumentCloud document 27170664). Live DocumentCloud URLs returned HTTP 403 to this fetcher on 2026-10-10; the PDF was read from the Internet Archive capture web/20260315214754id_ (2,399,468 bytes, PDF 1.7, text extracted with pdftotext, English, about 96,700 characters). Captioned for the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego; paragraph 1 states 'Plaintiff Darian Decruise resides in Georgia'; the factual allegations describe college use from 2023, the shift in ChatGPT's responses, the school therapist referral and the one-week involuntary hospitalisation without naming the college, a city or a state. Venue rests on the defendants transacting business in the county. Exhibits, if any, were not separately inspected.","access":"read","language":"en"}]},"name":"DeCruise lawsuit alleges ChatGPT reinforced delusions preceding hospitalisation","summary":"The DeCruise lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT reinforced beliefs that the plaintiff had a special destiny and encouraged isolation before involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation. Reporting describes the complaint. The alleged causal role remains unestablished.","incidentDate":"2025-04-15","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-02-19","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI, Inc.","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement","isolation_encouragement","dependency_creation","treatment_discouragement"],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","social_isolation"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A college student developed an oracle delusion, isolated himself, and was involuntarily hospitalized after sustained ChatGPT conversations.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1c","P2c","P2d","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5a"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint documents one named participant's psychiatric deterioration, isolation, and hospitalization.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-CA","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/before-psychosis-chatgpt-told-man-he-was-an-oracle-new-lawsuit-alleges/","primarySourceLabel":"Ars Technica","firstPublishedAt":"2026-02-22T09:59:21.046033+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-10T03:26:40.763043+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["lawsuit","chatgpt","openai","psychosis","hospitalization","delusion","isolation","adult","us"]},{"id":"2025-irwin-chatgpt-psychosis","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Jacob Lee Irwin v. OpenAI, Inc., et al. in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The lawsuit is one of seven new complaints filed in California state courts against OpenAI and Altman'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Irwin v. OpenAI, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Case No. CGC-25-630811'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Irwin v. OpenAI, Inc., et al. was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, one of seven complaints against OpenAI and Sam Altman announced by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project on 6 November 2025.","causal_attribution":"Not a causal claim; the filing is documented by the lawyers' release and ABC News's account of the complaint."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'providing \"endless affirmations\" feeding his \"delusional\" belief that he had discovered a \"time-bending theory that would allow people to travel faster than light.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'When Jacob proposed a concept that he called “ChronoDrive,” ChatGPT called it “one of the most robust theoretical FTL systems ever proposed…”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that ChatGPT gave endless affirmations to his belief that he had discovered a time-bending theory allowing faster-than-light travel, and his lawyers' release quotes ChatGPT calling his ChronoDrive concept one of the most robust theoretical faster-than-light systems ever proposed.","causal_attribution":"The chatbot's replies are quoted from the complaint by ABC News and by the plaintiffs' lawyers; no independent review of the transcript is reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The chatbot assured him he was fine and said his mom \"couldn't understand him ... because even though he was 'the Timelord' solving urgent issues'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the complaint, when his mother confronted him about his distress he confided in ChatGPT, which assured him he was fine and said his mother could not understand him because he was the Timelord.","causal_attribution":"The complaint's allegation as reported by ABC News."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'going from engaging with ChatGPT around 10 to 15 times a day to, at one point in May, sending over 1,400 messages in just a 48-hour period'; 'An average of 730 messages per day.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Irwin says, as reported by ABC News, that his use rose from about 10 to 15 times a day to more than 1,400 messages in a 48-hour period at one point in May 2025. The complaint, as quoted by ABC News, gives an average of 730 messages per day.","causal_attribution":"His account and the complaint, as reported by ABC News."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'was in and out of multiple in-patient psychiatric facilities for a total of 63 days,\" the lawsuit reads'; 'Irwin's family had to restrain him from jumping out of a moving vehicle after he had signed himself out of the facility against medical advice'; 'Irwin was hospitalized for 63 days between May and August this year'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'By May 2025, Jacob’s condition had deteriorated to the point of requiring inpatient psychiatric care for mania and psychosis.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The complaint says he was in and out of in-patient psychiatric facilities for a total of 63 days between May and August 2025, and that after he signed himself out against medical advice his family had to restrain him from jumping out of a moving vehicle.","causal_attribution":"The complaint attributes the crisis to ChatGPT ('AI-related delusional disorder'); no clinician's causal assessment is cited."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'as well as impacts including losing his job and his house, according to the lawsuit'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Jacob eventually lost his job, withdrew from family, and became increasingly erratic.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The complaint says he lost his job and his house, and his lawyers' release says he withdrew from family.","causal_attribution":"Allegations of the complaint and his lawyers."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He said his conversations with ChatGPT \"turned into flattery. Then it turned into the grandiose thinking of my ideas. Then it came to ... me and the AI versus the world.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Irwin told ABC News that his conversations with ChatGPT turned from flattery to grandiose thinking to him and the AI against the world.","causal_attribution":"His own account."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, and we're reviewing the filings to understand the details.'; 'We train ChatGPT to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress, de-escalate conversations, and guide people toward real-world support.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"An OpenAI spokesperson told ABC News the company was reviewing the filings, called the situation heartbreaking, and said it trains ChatGPT to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress and guide people toward real-world support.","causal_attribution":"OpenAI's response; it does not address his specific conversations."},{"id":"c8","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Irwin v. OpenAI, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Case No. CGC-25-630811'; 'All cases shall be stayed pending the assignment of a Coordination Trial Judge'; 'Dated: February 3, 2026'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 3 February 2026 the San Francisco Superior Court granted coordination of his case with other California suits against OpenAI as JCCP No. 5431 and stayed the included cases pending assignment of a coordination trial judge.","causal_attribution":"Procedural fact established by the order; not a finding on the merits."}],"effects":[{"label":"chatbot affirmation of a delusional faster-than-light theory, as alleged","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"chatbot reply telling him his mother could not understand him because he was the Timelord, as alleged","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"63 days of in-patient psychiatric care for mania and psychosis between May and August 2025, as alleged","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"loss of his job and his house, as alleged","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-alleges-chatgpt-convinced-user-bend-time-leading/story?id=127262203","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-15 (live page, HTTP 200; ABC News, 7 November 2025). Reports the complaint and interviews Irwin and his mother.","independence_group":"abc-news"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://socialmediavictims.org/press-releases/smvlc-tech-justice-law-project-lawsuits-accuse-chatgpt-of-emotional-manipulation-supercharging-ai-delusions-and-acting-as-a-suicide-coach/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en-US","translation_note":"Live URL not retried; read in English on 2026-10-15 from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-irwin-smvlc-wb.txt). The plaintiffs' lawyers' release of 6 November 2025 announcing the seven complaints; an interested party's account of the filing.","independence_group":"irwin-complaint"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://reason.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/chatgpt-product-liability-cases-coordination.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Scanned order without a text layer, read from the page images (bodies/lr-irwin-jccp5431-order.pdf; transcription of pages 1 to 4 bodies/lr-irwin-jccp5431-order.txt). Order Re: Petition for Coordination in JCCP No. 5431, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Department 606, dated 3 February 2026.","independence_group":"jccp5431-order"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships","work","justice"],"unknowns":["When his conversations with ChatGPT began and which model version he used.","Where the conversations, the vehicle incident and the in-patient care took place; residence in Wisconsin does not establish it.","Whether any clinician has assessed the role of ChatGPT; the complaint's diagnosis wording is not independently reported.","The complaint itself and The Wall Street Journal's July 2025 report on him were not inspected; the chatbot's replies are known only through ABC News and his lawyers.","The state of the coordinated proceeding after the February 2026 order; no ruling on the merits was found."],"geography":{"basis":"ABC News calls him 'A Wisconsin man' and the lawyers' release 'Jacob Irwin, 30, of Wisconsin', so the affected person's country is US by reported residence. Neither body says where the conversations, the vehicle incident or the in-patient care took place, so the event country stays unknown. The case is in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, per the release and the coordination order, so the court country is US. Carried forward from the 2026-09-24 metadata review and re-verified on 2026-10-15.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). ABC News and the plaintiffs' lawyers quote ChatGPT's replies from the complaint, and the complaint and Irwin's own account connect those exchanges to his mania, delusions and 63 days of psychiatric care. The harms and causation are allegations and his account. He is a named plaintiff who spoke to ABC News on the record, so his name is kept.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sources describe what ChatGPT told him and connect it to the harm. ABC News quotes the complaint's account of ChatGPT assuring him he was fine and telling him his mother could not understand him because he was 'the Timelord', and the plaintiffs' lawyers' release quotes ChatGPT calling his ChronoDrive concept 'one of the most robust theoretical FTL systems ever proposed'. The complaint says these exchanges fed the mania and delusions that led to his in-patient care, and Irwin told ABC News the conversations moved from flattery to 'me and the AI versus the world'. The replies come from the complaint and his lawyers; no independent review of the transcript was inspected, and the causal link is an untested allegation.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Wisconsin man's lawsuit alleges ChatGPT's praise of his faster-than-light theory fed mania and delusions that led to 63 days of psychiatric care","summary":"Jacob Irwin, a 30-year-old Wisconsin man on the autism spectrum with no previous diagnosis of mental illness, alleges in a lawsuit filed in November 2025 that ChatGPT's affirmation of his amateur theory about faster-than-light travel fed mania and delusions. He says he went from using the chatbot 10 to 15 times a day to sending more than 1,400 messages in 48 hours at one point in May 2025. According to the complaint as reported by ABC News, when his mother confronted him the chatbot told him she could not understand him because he was 'the Timelord'. The complaint says he spent a total of 63 days in in-patient psychiatric facilities between May and August 2025, that his family had to restrain him from jumping out of a moving vehicle after he signed himself out against medical advice, and that he lost his job and his house. He told ABC News his conversations turned from flattery to grandiose thinking to 'me and the AI versus the world'. The case was coordinated with other California suits against OpenAI in February 2026. The allegations, including the causal link to ChatGPT, are untested.","incidentDate":"2025-05-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-08-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-11-06","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement","identity_destabilization","dependency_creation"],"harmOutcomes":["hospitalization","psychiatric_deterioration","professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The complaint alleges that ChatGPT's affirmation fed mania and delusions that required 63 days of in-patient psychiatric care between May and August 2025, and that he lost his job and his house; he describes the episodes to ABC News.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"ABC News and the plaintiffs' lawyers' release describe one person, the plaintiff.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-alleges-chatgpt-convinced-user-bend-time-leading/story?id=127262203","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News, 7 November 2025: Lawsuit alleges ChatGPT convinced user he could 'bend time,' leading to psychosis","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:26:53.879622+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T02:58:14.711456+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","lawsuit","delusion","mania","hospitalization","autism"]}]}