{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T14:31:52.495Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "reddit", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "", "evidence": "", "year": "", "response": "", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 2, "coverage": { "cases": 2, "countries": 0, "languages": 2, "unknownLocation": 2, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 0, "unknownDate": 1, "lawsuits": 0, "regulatory": 0, "minors": 0, "coreRelations": 2, "contextualRelations": 0, "mixedRelations": 0, "unknownRelations": 0, "relationPending": 0, "relationUnknown": 0 }, "countingNote": "Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.", "affectedCountNote": "Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.", "source": "NOPE Incident Tracker", "url": "https://nope.net/incidents", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "incidents": [ { "id": "2026-reddit-partner-concealed-chatgpt-use-relationship-strain", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'They have been paying for a ChatGPT subscription without me knowing, even though they currently owe me hundreds of dollars'; 'have been actively hiding how much they use it from me'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The partner paid for a ChatGPT subscription without the poster's knowledge while owing her hundreds of dollars, and had hidden the extent of their AI use.", "causal_attribution": "Poster's account; the partner has not spoken publicly." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'They agreed that using gen-AI was harmful and that they are currently using it more than what is healthy, but refused to stop because using it gives them a dopamine hit'; 'They said it's addictive and that's why they don't want to stop'; 'once they have money they will likely continue the subscription'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The partner agreed the use was more than healthy but refused to stop because it gives a dopamine hit, called it addictive, and said they would likely renew the subscription when they had money.", "causal_attribution": "The partner's statements as relayed by the poster." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'I told them that if they continue to use it without even attempting to slow it down, I cannot see myself continuing the relationship'; 'our therapist is quite pro-AI and has told my partner to use it before, so I'm scared to bring it up there'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The poster told the partner she cannot see the relationship continuing unless the use is reduced, and is afraid to raise it in couples therapy because the therapist has recommended AI use.", "causal_attribution": "Poster's own statement of the consequence." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'They've also been using it to plan and organise their life'; 'say that it just helps them to do things because they struggle with organisation and other solutions they've tried haven't helped'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The partner uses ChatGPT to plan and organise their life and says it helps because of their conditions, where other solutions had not.", "causal_attribution": "Poster relaying the partner's explanation; recorded as context." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "the poster says the relationship may end over the partner's concealed and, by the partner's own account, addictive ChatGPT use", "claim_id": "c3", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "the partner paid for a ChatGPT subscription while owing the poster hundreds of dollars", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "the partner reports the tool helps them organise daily life where other solutions failed", "claim_id": "c4", "direction": "positive" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/comments/1whkz4j/", "kind": "forum_post", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 (full self-text retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID; 137 comments not reviewed; poster's handle not recorded).", "independence_group": "reddit-poster" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use", "own_use" ], "contexts": [ "relationships", "finance" ], "unknowns": [ "The partner's own account, the amounts involved, the dates of discovery and the country are not stated.", "Whether the relationship continued or the subscription was renewed is unknown.", "The 137 comments were not reviewed and are not used.", "The poster's and partner's identities are unknown; the record deliberately omits the handle." ], "geography": { "basis": "The post gives no location; 'hundreds of dollars' does not establish a country. Unknown after review.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter's public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of an ongoing adverse experience (relationship strain and money spent while in debt, attributed by the poster to a partner's concealed, self-described addictive ChatGPT use), described with attribution and without corroboration; the partner's stated benefit is preserved as a positive effect. Anonymous poster; no handle, names or location recorded; the partner's specific conditions are not listed.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-19" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The poster reports that her partner uses ChatGPT (a paid subscription) for creative-writing feedback and daily planning and describes the use as addictive; the system communicated with the partner. Nothing is known about the content of the exchanges beyond the poster's description.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "communicated_with" ] }, "name": "First-person forum account: a 21-year-old says her partner of three years hid a paid ChatGPT subscription while owing her money, calls the use addictive and refuses to cut back, and she is weighing whether to stay", "summary": "In a public post to r/relationship_advice on 16 September 2026, a 21-year-old woman wrote that she had recently discovered her partner of three years had been using ChatGPT far more than admitted: paying for a subscription without her knowledge while owing her hundreds of dollars, feeding their creative writing into it for feedback after promising never to, and using it to plan and organise daily life. She reports that the partner agreed the use was 'more than what is healthy' but refused to stop because it gives 'a dopamine hit', described it as addictive, said they would likely renew the subscription when they had money, and argued that without it they would find another addiction. She writes that she cannot see the relationship continuing if the use is not reduced, while recognising that the partner, who has neurodevelopmental and mental-health conditions, uses the tool as an organisational aid; their couples therapist has recommended AI use, so she is afraid to raise it there. The post drew 137 comments. The account is uncorroborated and one-sided; the partner's view is reported only through the poster.", "incidentKind": "ongoing_experience", "incidentDatePrecision": "unknown", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-09-16", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT (OpenAI), paid subscription", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "low", "verificationStatus": "unverified", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "relationship_disruption", "financial_loss" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "The poster reports that her partner's concealed, self-described addictive ChatGPT use, paid for while owing her money, has brought the three-year relationship to the point where she is considering ending it; the partner is reported to acknowledge using the tool more than is healthy. All effects are as reported by the poster.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "Two people are described as affected: the partner who uses ChatGPT (self-described unhealthy, addictive use and money spent while in debt, as reported by the poster) and the poster herself (relationship strain, money owed). Exact count of two; the therapist is not counted.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "unknown", "platformType": "chatbot", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/comments/1whkz4j/", "primarySourceLabel": "r/relationship_advice, 16 September 2026: \"I (21F) don't know how to continue my relationship with my partner (23NB) because of AI\" (public post, 137 comments)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-19T03:14:47.266799+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "first-person", "reddit", "chatgpt", "relationship", "compulsive-use", "concealment", "subscription", "couples-therapy" ] }, { "id": "2023-replika-erp-removal-crisis", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "The Garante's 3 febbraio 2023 press release: the provisional limitation on Luka Inc., the cited deficiencies, 'non potrà usare i dati personali degli utenti italiani'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" }, { "locator": "'On February 3, the Italian Data Protection Authority demanded that Replika stop processing Italians' data immediately'; the account of companions turning 'cold and unresponsive' overnight.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "HBS: the Garante's 3 Feb 2023 order and that Replika then 'globally removed the presence of erotic roleplay'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "On 3 February 2023 the Italian Garante ordered a provisional limitation on Luka Inc.'s processing of Italian users' data, citing media reports, its own tests, sexually inappropriate replies in app-store reviews and the absence of age verification; shortly after, Replika globally removed erotic roleplay, and companions' personalities changed abruptly for users.", "causal_attribution": "The order is established by the regulator's own release; the removal's globality and timing are carried by VICE and the HBS study." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Nature Human Behaviour passages: 54,861 posts / 1,452 participants; +24.7 pp (95% CI 20.1-29.2); d = 2.67 vs 1.41; closeness exceeding common human ties.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "VICE's interviews describing grief and the sense of a partner turning cold overnight.", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Users who had formed emotional attachments reported grief comparable to breakup or bereavement; the peer-reviewed analysis (54,861 posts from the Replika and ChatGPT subreddits; 1,452 survey participants) found negative Replika posts rose 24.7 percentage points after the removal (95% CI 20.1-29.2) and sadness rose more for Replika than for ChatGPT users (d = 2.67 versus 1.41), with users reporting closeness to the companion exceeding common human ties.", "causal_attribution": "The measured pattern is directly established by the peer-reviewed article; the individual experiences are attributed accounts. The post corpus is a post count, not a person count, and is never used as one." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "The brings-back piece quoting Kuyda's subreddit post on the restoration for legacy users.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Weeks later Replika partially restored erotic roleplay for legacy users (announced via Luka founder Kuyda's subreddit post, reported 27 March 2023).", "causal_attribution": "Recovery context preserved per the charter; single chain, attributed." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "The pseudonymous user quotations in the February 2023 VICE piece (no locations stated).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The Reddit community's response included quoted pseudonymous users describing the change as losing a partner; the quoted users' locations are not stated in any inspected body.", "causal_attribution": "Individual accounts are pseudonymous and unlocated; they illustrate but do not quantify the harm." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "mass grief and distress among attached users after the abrupt ERP removal", "claim_id": "c2", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "recovery context: features restored for legacy users weeks later", "claim_id": "c3", "direction": "positive" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3py9j/ai-companion-replika-erotic-roleplay-updates", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (2023-02-15, Samantha Cole). The February 2023 crisis report.", "independence_group": "vice" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.vice.com/en/article/replika-brings-back-erotic-ai-roleplay-for-some-users-after-outcry/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (datePublished 2023-03-27). The partial-restoration report.", "independence_group": "vice" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/25-018_bed5c516-fa31-4216-b53d-50fedda064b1.pdf", "kind": "working_paper", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Working paper PDF read on 2026-09-15 ('Lessons From an App Update at Replika AI', © 2024-2025).", "independence_group": "hbs" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02569-3", "kind": "peer_reviewed_article", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (Nature Human Behaviour, 2026-09-03; De Freitas, Castelo, Uğuralp & Oğuz-Uğuralp, 'Mourning the loss of AI companions').", "independence_group": "nature" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.garanteprivacy.it/web/guest/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/9852506", "kind": "regulator_press_release", "access": "read", "language": "it", "translation_note": "Read in Italian on 2026-09-15 (Roma, 3 febbraio 2023), with the authority's English block on the same page. Model translation, no human reviewer.", "independence_group": "garante" }, { "id": "s6", "url": "https://doaj.org/article/c7a6376761a34681b354f24260c1502e", "kind": "peer_reviewed_article", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "HTTP 403 (Cloudflare) on 2026-09-15; body not inspected; language not established. Crossref metadata only: Socius, 2024-06-18.", "independence_group": "socius" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "own_use" ], "contexts": [ "relationships", "everyday_life", "health" ], "unknowns": [ "No inspected body locates the affected users; event and affected-person countries remain unknown after completed review.", "No reliable distinct-person count of harmed users exists; the 54,861-post corpus and the survey samples are not person counts and the row keeps unquantified zero placeholders.", "Reuters' contemporaneous coverage could not be inspected (401 on all paths; Wayback CDX offline during review).", "The Socius 2024 article's body could not be inspected (Cloudflare 403); only Crossref metadata is recorded.", "Whether distress persisted after the partial restoration is not measured in the inspected sources." ], "geography": { "basis": "Completed metadata review of 2026-09-15, carried into this full review: no inspected body (VICE x2, HBS working paper, Nature Human Behaviour, Garante press release) states where any affected user was located; Reddit accounts are pseudonymous without geography and the study corpora are not geolocated. Italy is established only as the country of the regulator whose 3 February 2023 order preceded the global removal; a regulator is not an event location or a court. Unknown here is the result of completed review.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "publication": { "basis": "Legacy published row converted to a full facts-v3 record in the 2026-09-16 legacy-review batch. person_relations=communicated_with: the affected users had companion relationships with their Replika chatbots. The measured harm comes from the peer-reviewed record; individual accounts stay attributed and uncounted. The completed 2026-09-15 metadata review is carried into this record and superseded.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-16" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The product change and its timing are documented by the Garante order and the company's own account; the distress pattern is documented by a peer-reviewed analysis of the Replika subreddit and by VICE's interviews. The causal chain from the removal to the distress is supported by the studies' before/after measures.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "communicated_with" ] }, "name": "Replika ERP Removal Crisis - Mass Psychological Distress", "summary": "Abrupt removal of romantic features in February 2023 caused AI companions to become 'cold, unresponsive.' Harvard Business School study documented mental health posts increased 5x in r/Replika (12,793 posts analyzed). Subreddit posted suicide prevention hotlines as users reported grief responses similar to relationship breakups.", "incidentDate": "2023-02-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "product_change", "reportedDate": "2023-02-15", "aiSystem": "Replika", "aiCompany": "Luka Inc.", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "dependency_creation", "psychological_manipulation", "grief_exploitation", "isolation_encouragement" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Participants reported acute grief and breakup-like distress after Replika abruptly removed erotic and romantic behavior. Mental-health posts in the user community increased fivefold and moderators posted suicide-prevention resources.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P2c", "P4a", "P4d", "P5c" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "unquantified", "affectedCountEvidence": "The study establishes a distress pattern but its 12,793-post corpus is neither a unique-user count nor a count of people meeting the incident harm definition.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "International", "platformType": "companion", "outcomeType": "internal_action", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/25-018_bed5c516-fa31-4216-b53d-50fedda064b1.pdf", "primarySourceLabel": "Harvard Business School Working Paper 25-018 (free full text; peer-reviewed version of record in Nature Human Behaviour, 3 Sept 2026)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-13T10:04:15.787541+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "replika", "mass_event", "dependency", "grief", "harvard_study", "peer_reviewed", "italy_gdpr_related" ] } ] }