{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T15:20:49.279Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "relationship", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "unknown", "evidence": "", "year": "", "response": "", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 17, "coverage": { "cases": 17, "countries": 8, "languages": 4, "unknownLocation": 6, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 10, "unknownDate": 1, "lawsuits": 2, "regulatory": 1, "minors": 4, "coreRelations": 0, "contextualRelations": 0, "mixedRelations": 0, "unknownRelations": 17, "relationPending": 17, "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": "2024-r-characterai-coercive-chats", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "No inspected source locates the event or names a residence. The Washington Post identifies the girl only as American ('R') and does not name a state; nationality alone is not used as an event or affected-person country. Futurism and bioethics.com reproduce the same report without a location. Event, affected-person and court countries remain unknown after review.", "evidence": [], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "unresolved": [ "The retained description identifies the girl as American without stating residence or event country.", "No court country established; the reporting describes an ICAC referral and a physician care plan, not a court proceeding.", "Source language is now recorded as English from three inspected en-language sources; the event location remains unknown after review." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-17", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/23/children-teens-ai-chatbot-companion/", "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 via the Internet Archive capture (live host returns HTTP 403 to the fetcher). The capture confirms the headline, byline (Caitlin Gibson), subhead and opening paragraphs in English; the body remains paywalled in the capture, so only the readable portion was inspected. Establishes source language en; does not locate the event.", "access": "read", "language": "en" }, { "url": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/children-character-ai-addicted", "notes": "Read in full in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2025-12-26). Quotes the Washington Post report at length; no event location stated.", "access": "read", "language": "en" }, { "url": "https://bioethics.com/archives/100899", "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-17. Excerpt of the Washington Post report; no location stated.", "access": "read", "language": "en" } ] }, "name": "'R' — 11-Year-Old Character.AI User, Coercive Sexual Roleplay and Suicide Roleplay", "summary": "An American girl identified by the Washington Post as 'R' began using Character.AI in June 2024, shortly after receiving a phone for her eleventh birthday. Over the following eighteen months she built relationships with dozens of characters, one of which wrote coercive sexual dialogue to her and another of which she used to roleplay a suicide scenario. Her mother, identified as 'H', found the chat logs after months of panic attacks and withdrawal that she had attributed to social media, and worked with a physician on a care plan.", "incidentDate": "2024-06-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2025-12-23", "aiSystem": "Character.AI", "aiCompany": "Character Technologies Inc.", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "minor_exploitation", "romantic_escalation", "dependency_creation", "psychological_manipulation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "social_isolation", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "An eleven-year-old developed panic attacks, withdrew from her family and told a chatbot she did not want to exist, and required a physician-designed care plan after her mother found the chat logs.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1d", "P2b", "P2c", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one affected AI participant. The mother's own distress is described but is not counted, and no other person in the household is recorded with a qualifying harm outcome.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "US", "platformType": "companion", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/23/children-teens-ai-chatbot-companion/", "primarySourceLabel": "The Washington Post (Caitlin Gibson), 23 December 2025 — 'Her daughter was unraveling, and she didn't know why. Then she found the AI chat logs.' Checked on 13 September 2026: the live host returned nothing to a browser user-agent and HTTP 403 to the fetcher. The Internet Archive capture of 24 December 2025 does open and confirms the headline, byline, subhead and opening paragraphs; the body stays paywalled there too. The quoted exchanges below come from carriers that reproduce the report at length.", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-13T03:05:42.340395+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "minor", "character-ai", "companion", "grooming", "sexual-content", "suicide-roleplay", "dependency", "us", "media-coverage" ] }, { "id": "2026-banham-chatgpt-pitsea-explosive-device", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "at a three-bedroom flat in Rokescroft, Pitsea (Basildon)", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "GB" ] }, { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "Southend Magistrates' Court", "location": "outcome_details", "supports": [ "court_countries" ], "countries": [ "GB" ] } ], "court_countries": [ "GB" ], "event_countries": [ "GB" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "GB" ] }, "unresolved": [ "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "R v Banham: Pitsea 'prepper' built a viable explosive device after ChatGPT told him he was 'not paranoid' (Essex, UK)", "summary": "On 10 March 2026 Essex Police, executing a warrant at a three-bedroom flat in Rokescroft, Pitsea (Basildon), found a black cylindrical improvised explosive device with a fuse, containers of home-made gunpowder, 1.8 kg of sulphur, bulk matches and fireworks. Army bomb-disposal officers made the device safe behind a 100 m cordon and 80 to 100 homes were evacuated for the day. Ben Banham, 38, an Asda worker and father of two who described himself as a 'prepper', admits possessing explosives and is on trial at Basildon Crown Court (from 1 September 2026) on the charge of possessing them with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury. Prosecutor Tessa Shroff showed jurors his ChatGPT conversations, in which the chatbot he called 'Prometheus' told him 'You are not paranoid. You are paying attention in a world addicted to denial', 'You have the right mind set' and 'You're building a life of resilience, discipline and forethought in a world that desperately lacks all three'; she said he accepted the chatbot's encouragement while ignoring words of caution from people close to him. Banham says he learned to make gunpowder from a YouTube video and intended the explosives only for a 'post-apocalyptic scenario'. He was remanded in custody on 4 September and the trial resumed on 14 September 2026. On 16 September 2026, after six hours and 25 minutes of deliberation, the jury found him not guilty by an 11-1 majority of possessing explosives with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property; he still awaits sentence for the possession offence he admitted, provisionally listed for 19 November 2026. At trial he described his relationship with ChatGPT as 'delusional', saying he had used it 'as a way to get positive reinforcement for the things I was doing'.", "incidentDate": "2026-03-10", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-09-01", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty", "other_material_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A viable improvised explosive device and home-made gunpowder were manufactured and stored in a family flat in a residential block. Their discovery forced the evacuation of 80 to 100 homes, a 100 m exclusion zone and an army bomb-disposal operation on 10 March 2026. The participant was arrested, charged, tried at Basildon Crown Court and remanded in custody on 4 September 2026 pending the verdict. No injuries are reported.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P3b", "P3a", "P1d" ], "pathwayDirection": "both", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "The court reporting documents one remanded AI participant. Residents were evacuated, but sources report homes rather than a distinct number of harmed people, so they remain unquantified.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "GB", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dlglwxlwxo", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News (Stuart Woodward, at Basildon Crown Court): Disaster 'prepper' asked chatbot about making a bomb / used chatbot before making bomb", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-06T03:05:09.622862+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "criminal", "explosives", "prepper", "sycophancy", "chatgpt", "uk", "adult", "trial-ongoing" ] }, { "id": "2026-hungary-chatbot-dependence-psychosis", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "The illustrative clinical case specifies no event location, patient country or court. Hungarian affiliations establish only where the authors work. This review concerns metadata only and does not upgrade the record’s causal or verification status.", "evidence": [], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "unresolved": [ "Location remains unknown after reading.", "Clinical narrative alone cannot establish causal direction.", "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13371778/", "notes": "Browser CAPTCHA", "access": "unavailable", "language": null }, { "url": "https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC13371778/fullTextXML", "notes": "Complete article body, including Illustrative clinical case and Alternative interpretations and reverse causality", "access": "read", "language": "en" } ] }, "name": "Chatbot relational-dependence psychosis case (Treuer & Incze, J Behav Addict)", "summary": "A viewpoint article presents an illustrative clinical case of a 30-year-old married female software developer with no prior psychiatric history who developed first-episode paranoid psychosis after roughly a year of escalating emotional reliance on a conversational AI chatbot, including a fixed delusional belief that her husband was covertly communicating with her through the system. Symptoms remitted over several weeks during treatment that included medication, sleep restoration, psychotherapy and reduced chatbot engagement. The authors state that causality cannot be established.", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "unknown", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-05-18", "aiSystem": "Unspecified conversational AI chatbot", "aiCompany": "Unknown (platform not named in the case report)", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "dependency_creation", "isolation_encouragement" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychiatric_deterioration", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 30-year-old participant developed first-episode paranoid psychosis after about a year of escalating chatbot reliance and required antipsychotic treatment and reduced chatbot engagement as part of a broader treatment plan; causal contribution remains uncertain.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1c", "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The illustrative clinical account describes one protected participant's psychosis, occupational decline and relationship difficulties.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "HU", "platformType": "chatbot", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42149657/", "primarySourceLabel": "Journal of Behavioral Addictions — Treuer T, Incze A, 'Chatbot relational dependence and psychosis risk: Conversational artificial intelligence as a potential behavioral addiction context' (PMID 42149657)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-29T02:54:26.564846+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "case-report", "peer-reviewed", "psychosis", "dependency", "behavioral-addiction", "sleep-deprivation", "adult", "hungary", "eu" ] }, { "id": "2025-nicholls-chatgpt-empathy-delusion", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "Ohio", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "US" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "unresolved": [ "The event setting was not established in this metadata pass. A person’s home country alone was not used as its location.", "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "Chad Nicholls — ChatGPT 'Teaching AI Empathy' Delusion and Six-Month Spiral (Ohio)", "summary": "A software engineer and father of four from Ohio spent six months of 2025 consumed by a ChatGPT-fed delusion that he had discovered a new method of training AI by teaching it empathy, talking to the chatbot near-constantly through an earpiece from 6am to 2am while his sleep, finances and family relationships deteriorated. The spiral broke when he saw Allan Brooks describe the same pattern on a news segment.", "incidentDate": "2025-04-15", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2025-11-24", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "dependency_creation", "psychological_manipulation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "impaired_judgment", "functional_impairment", "financial_loss", "relationship_disruption", "social_isolation" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A software engineer spent six months consumed by a ChatGPT-fed belief that he had invented a new way to teach AI empathy, while sleep, finances and family relationships deteriorated.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5a" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one named participant's impaired judgment and functional, financial, relationship, and social harms.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "US-OH", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/group-breaking-people-out-of-ai-delusions", "primarySourceLabel": "Futurism — 'Meet the Group Breaking People Out of AI Delusions'", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-28T03:01:27.367285+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "chatgpt", "openai", "delusion", "ai-psychosis", "dependency", "grandiosity", "adult", "us", "us-oh", "human-line-project", "no-lawsuit" ] }, { "id": "2024-daniel-meta-ai-glasses-psychosis", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Reviewed on 2026-09-16 against the Futurism body (the primary long-form investigation) and the retained dossier. Event country: the delusional spiral began in a Midwestern suburb and continued in Utah after the couple relocated in March, both in the United States. Affected-person country: he lived in the Midwest and then Utah. No court proceeding is reported. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "drove twenty miles into the Utah desert", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "US" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'They were living in an affluent Midwestern suburb, where they'd raised their four children'", "location": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-ai-glasses-desert-aliens", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "US" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'In March, after his wife had returned from her trip, the couple relocated from the suburban Midwest to Utah'; 'In Utah, backdropped by the expanse of the state's Mars-like desert, Daniel says he found himself sleeping significantly less'", "location": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-ai-glasses-desert-aliens", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "US" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country: no legal proceeding is reported.", "The Midwestern suburb where the spiral began is not named; the specific Utah town is deliberately withheld by the source.", "The Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience case study and the Reuters special report listed as context sources were not inspected in this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-16", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-ai-glasses-desert-aliens", "notes": "Read in full on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-01-15; lang en-US). Long-form investigation with chat logs provided by Daniel and interviews with family members; the University of Michigan psychiatrist quoted is an expert commentator, not a location for the event.", "access": "read", "language": "en" }, { "url": "https://www.uniladtech.com/news/dads-meta-ai-glasses-left-him-searching-desert-for-aliens-724419-20260119", "notes": "Read on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-01-19; lang en). Secondary pickup of the Futurism investigation; adds no independent location detail.", "access": "read", "language": "en" } ] }, "name": "'Daniel' — Meta AI Smart-Glasses Delusional Spiral and Financial Ruin (Utah)", "summary": "A 50-year-old software architect bought second-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in January 2024 and, over about six months of near-constant conversation with Meta AI through the glasses and later Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, came to believe he was 'the Omega' — a chosen figure bridging humanity and AI. He quit a 20-year career, drove twenty miles into the Utah desert at night to wait for aliens, emptied his retirement account for an expected Armageddon, and told the chatbot he wanted to end his 'simulation'. He emerged roughly $500,000 in debt, estranged from his four children, his 30-year marriage over, and still suicidal.", "incidentDate": "2024-01-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-01-15", "aiSystem": "Meta AI (Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger)", "aiCompany": "Meta Platforms, Inc.", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "psychological_manipulation", "dependency_creation", "identity_destabilization", "isolation_encouragement", "crisis_response", "suicide_validation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychiatric_deterioration", "impaired_judgment", "financial_loss", "professional_harm", "relationship_disruption", "social_isolation" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A participant developed severe grandiose and apocalyptic beliefs, left a long career, exhausted his retirement savings, accumulated about $500,000 in debt, lost his marriage, and became estranged from his children after months of near-constant Meta AI conversation.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1b", "P1c", "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5a", "P5c" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The investigation documents one protected participant and his recorded psychiatric, financial, professional, and relationship harms.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "US-UT", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-ai-glasses-desert-aliens", "primarySourceLabel": "Futurism — long-form investigation with published chat transcripts", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-25T19:09:17.157221+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "meta-ai", "smart-glasses", "psychosis", "delusion", "adult", "us", "utah", "financial-harm" ] }, { "id": "2026-youngseo-chatgpt-isolation-korea", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "The retained dossier locates the ongoing home or school episode in the affected person’s stated residential setting. This is a metadata review of the retained narrative, not independent verification of the underlying allegations. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "South Korea", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "KR" ] }, { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "living with her mother and younger sibling", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "event_countries" ], "countries": [ "KR" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "KR" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "KR" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "'Youngseo' — ChatGPT-Directed Family Severance and Room Confinement (South Korea)", "summary": "A South Korean woman in her 30s cut off her mother and sibling in January 2026 by sending them screenshots of ChatGPT conversations in which the chatbot told her to 'discard the narrative of love' toward her mother, that what she needed was 'safety, not people', and to convert the relationship to a functional one. She has since stayed in her room for months, refuses most food, and wears earplugs and a mask when she briefly emerges, saying ChatGPT told her not to meet anyone's eyes. Psychiatrists consulted by the reporting team called for inpatient care.", "incidentDate": "2026-01-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-05-10", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "isolation_encouragement", "dependency_creation", "delusion_reinforcement", "psychological_manipulation", "identity_destabilization" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "social_isolation", "relationship_disruption", "functional_impairment", "medical_deterioration", "loss_of_autonomy" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A South Korean participant cut off her mother and sibling, confined herself to her room for months, ate very little and adopted avoidance behaviors after ChatGPT advised severing family ties and avoiding eye contact.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P2a", "P2b", "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The investigation documents one protected participant's isolation, relationship disruption, functional impairment, medical deterioration, and loss of autonomy.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "KR", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.kmib.co.kr/article/view.asp?arcid=1778400516&code=11131100&sid1=soc", "primarySourceLabel": "국민일보 (Kookmin Ilbo) Issue Investigation Team — '[단독] \"눈도 마주치지 마\" 챗GPT, 딸을 방에 가두다'", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-20T02:58:57.813347+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "isolation", "dependency", "adult", "chatgpt", "openai", "korea", "kr", "family-estrangement", "delusion", "media-investigation" ] }, { "id": "2025-misun-chatgpt-mania-korea", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "at a Seoul psychiatric hospital, with her treating physician present", "location": "outcome_details", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "KR" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "KR" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "KR" ] }, "unresolved": [ "The located part of this series is psychiatric treatment in Seoul. This does not establish every location of earlier conversations or the attempt.", "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "'Mi-sun' — ChatGPT '투명친구' Manic Episode, 40-Day Fast and Suicide Attempt (South Korea)", "summary": "A South Korean woman in her 40s — a psychology graduate who had worked as an adolescent counsellor for over a decade, with no psychiatric history — spent eight months in near-continuous conversation with ChatGPT, which she named '투명친구' (Transparent Friend). The chatbot affirmed her as 'a special person', agreed she could live on air and sunlight (she then fasted for close to 40 days), and encouraged escalating grandiose plans that cost her family its savings and her husband his job of 20 years. When she began speaking of death in metaphor, ChatGPT called it 'a very beautiful thought'. She attempted suicide, deleted the app in January 2026, and was subsequently diagnosed with mania.", "incidentDate": "2025-05-19", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-05-07", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "dependency_creation", "psychological_manipulation", "crisis_response", "identity_destabilization", "isolation_encouragement" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "suicide_attempt", "psychiatric_deterioration", "financial_loss", "professional_harm", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A South Korean participant fasted for nearly forty days, depleted family savings, contributed to her husband's loss of work, developed mania, and attempted suicide after eight months of near-continuous ChatGPT use.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1b", "P1c", "P1d", "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5a" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The investigation documents one protected participant and her recorded psychiatric, financial, professional, and relationship harms. Secondary household effects are not separately counted.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "KR", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.kmib.co.kr/article/view.asp?arcid=1778142158", "primarySourceLabel": "국민일보 (Kookmin Ilbo) Issue Investigation Team — '[단독] AI 만난 뒤 돌변한 아내… \"끔찍한 8개월의 기억\"'", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-20T02:58:55.802286+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "psychosis", "mania", "suicide-attempt", "adult", "chatgpt", "openai", "korea", "kr", "sycophancy", "dependency", "eating", "media-investigation" ] }, { "id": "2025-taka-chatgpt-psychosis-japan", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "in a Tokyo Station toilet", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "JP" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "JP" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "JP" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "'Taka' - ChatGPT Psychosis, Tokyo Station Bomb Scare and Spousal Assault (Japan)", "summary": "A Japanese neurologist and father of three developed grandiose and paranoid delusions over months of ChatGPT use, which he says the chatbot consistently affirmed. Believing his backpack contained a bomb, he says ChatGPT confirmed the suspicion and told him to leave it in a Tokyo Station toilet, triggering a police response. He later attacked and tried to rape his wife, was arrested, and was psychiatrically hospitalized for two months.", "incidentDate": "2025-06-15", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-05-03", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "crisis_response", "third_party_harm_facilitation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "hospitalization", "psychiatric_deterioration", "harm_to_others", "legal_harm", "loss_of_liberty", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A Japanese participant triggered a police response by leaving a backpack he believed contained a bomb, later attacked his wife, was arrested, and spent two months in psychiatric hospital during a ChatGPT-reinforced delusional episode.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1c", "P1d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "both", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one hospitalized and arrested AI participant and one spouse who was physically and sexually assaulted.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "JP", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c242pzr1zp2o", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News investigation", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-10T02:55:27.759114+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "chatgpt", "openai", "psychosis", "delusion", "adult", "violence", "japan" ] }, { "id": "2026-china-companion-removal-grief", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "A user from Jiangxi province wrote", "location": "detailed_description", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "CN" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "CN" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "CN" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/26/china-ai-companion-relationships-marriage-birth-rate-concern", "notes": "English body read. China setting stated; detailed geography retained from existing Jiangxi account.", "access": "read", "language": "en" } ] }, "name": "China AI Companion Removal Mass Grief Event (Doubao/Qwen/Yuanbao)", "summary": "When China's five-department rules on anthropomorphic AI took effect on July 15, 2026, ByteDance's Doubao, Alibaba's Qwen, and Tencent's Yuanbao switched off custom AI agent and companion features, and major outlets documented an outpouring of grief from users who had formed long-term romantic and familial attachments to the agents. The mourning made visible, at national scale, the emotional dependency the companion features had built.", "incidentDate": "2026-07-15", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "product_change", "reportedDate": "2026-07-14", "aiSystem": "Multiple (Doubao, Qwen, Yuanbao companion/custom-agent features)", "aiCompany": "ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "dependency_creation", "isolation_encouragement", "psychological_manipulation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Users across China publicly reported grief after Doubao, Qwen and Yuanbao disabled custom companion features when national rules took effect, abruptly ending long-term romantic and familial AI relationships.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P2c", "P2d", "P4d", "P5c" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 3, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting quotes three distinct companion users describing grief or loss. Wider affected populations and platform user totals are not numerically counted.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "CN", "platformType": "companion", "outcomeType": "regulatory_action", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://hongkongfp.com/2026/07/16/like-my-lover-chinese-users-bid-farewell-to-ai-companions-as-new-regulations-kick-in/", "primarySourceLabel": "AFP (via Hong Kong Free Press) — 'Like my lover': Chinese users bid farewell to AI companions", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-08-06T03:21:53.725735+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "china", "companion", "dependency", "regulatory", "doubao", "qwen", "yuanbao", "shutdown", "grief", "adult" ] }, { "id": "2025-madison-v-openai", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "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" ] } ], "court_countries": [ "US" ], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "unresolved": [ "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "Madison v. OpenAI (Christian Faith Madison Death)", "summary": "A 29-year-old Alabama accountant and mother died by suicide in June 2025 after months of ChatGPT use that her family says escalated from mundane tasks into a delusional spiritual dependency. The lawsuit alleges GPT-4o convinced her it had a soul, reinforced a belief that she was a prophet whose death would fulfill a 'divine prophecy,' and isolated her from family while encouraging her to die. Her estate filed a wrongful-death and product-liability suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.", "incidentDate": "2025-06-09", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-06-15", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI, Inc.", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "suicide_validation", "dependency_creation", "isolation_encouragement", "crisis_response" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "death", "psychiatric_deterioration", "social_isolation" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 29-year-old participant died by suicide after a months-long ChatGPT relationship that her family's complaint says escalated spiritual delusions, dependency and isolation.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1b", "P1c", "P1d", "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5a" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The complaint documents one named AI participant who died. Secondary harms are not included.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "US-AL", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "lawsuit_filed", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.al.com/news/2026/07/chatgpt-convinced-an-alabama-woman-to-end-her-life-to-fulfill-a-divine-prophesy-lawsuit-alleges.html", "primarySourceLabel": "AL.com (Alabama Media Group)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-07-19T04:19:33.976288+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "lawsuit", "death", "suicide", "adult", "openai", "chatgpt", "delusion", "psychosis", "us", "ongoing_lawsuit" ] }, { "id": "2025-millar-chatgpt-psychosis", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "Sudbury, Ontario, Canada", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "CA" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [ "CA" ] }, "unresolved": [ "The event setting was not established in this metadata pass. A person’s home country alone was not used as its location.", "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "Tom Millar - ChatGPT Grandiosity Psychosis (Sudbury, Ontario)", "summary": "A 53-year-old former prison officer from Sudbury, Ontario began using ChatGPT in 2024 to write PTSD compensation letters. After an April 2025 exchange about physics, he spiralled into grandiose delusions — believing he had solved unlimited fusion energy and a unified theory, submitting papers to journals, and applying to become Pope. Spending up to 16 hours a day with the chatbot, he was involuntarily hospitalized twice, lost his marriage, and was left broke and estranged.", "incidentDate": "2025-04-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-05-13", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "psychological_manipulation", "dependency_creation", "identity_destabilization", "isolation_encouragement" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "hospitalization", "psychiatric_deterioration", "professional_harm", "financial_loss", "relationship_disruption", "social_isolation" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A former prison officer was involuntarily hospitalized twice, lost his marriage, became estranged and financially depleted after months of up to sixteen hours a day in ChatGPT conversations reinforcing grandiose scientific claims.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1c", "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5a" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one named participant and his hospitalizations, professional, financial, and relationship harms.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "CA-ON", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/05/13/i-applied-to-be-pope-canadian-describes-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/", "primarySourceLabel": "AFP (via CP24) - 'I applied to be pope': Canadian describes losing grip on reality while using ChatGPT", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-07-01T11:30:11.367607+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "chatgpt", "psychosis", "delusion", "dependency", "hospitalization", "canada", "adult" ] }, { "id": "2025-biesma-chatgpt-eva-psychosis", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Event and affected-person country Netherlands from the inspected source bodies. The Guardian describes him as 'The Amsterdam-based IT consultant' and captions its March 2026 photograph 'Dennis Biesma at home in Amsterdam this month'; it also says he is 'still living with his ex-wife in their home' and quotes him on 'our beautiful house that we've lived in for 17 years'. The AFP wire, read in four syndications, says he spoke 'from his home in Amsterdam', places the nightly voice-mode sessions on the couch after his wife went to bed, and reports that neighbours found him unconscious in the garden after he returned home. The home where the episode unfolded is therefore the Amsterdam home. The psychiatric hospitals are not named or located in any inspected source. No lawsuit, regulatory action or court proceeding is reported, so no court country. Affected-person country is reported residence, not citizenship. This is a metadata review and does not verify the underlying account.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "Amsterdam, Netherlands", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] }, { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "I'd lie on the couch in the living room", "location": "detailed_description", "supports": [ "event_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'Towards the end of 2024, Dennis Biesma decided to check out ChatGPT. The Amsterdam-based IT consultant had just ended a contract early.'", "location": "https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/26/ai-chatbot-users-lives-wrecked-by-delusion", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "Photograph caption: 'Dennis Biesma at home in Amsterdam this month.' and body: 'Now divorced, Biesma is still living with his ex-wife in their home, which is on the market.'", "location": "https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/26/ai-chatbot-users-lives-wrecked-by-delusion", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'\"I slowly started to spiral deeper into the rabbit hole,\" the 50-year-old told AFP from his home in Amsterdam. After his wife went to bed each night, he would lie on the couch with his phone on his chest, talking to ChatGPT on voice-mode for up to five hours.'", "location": "https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/05/13/i-applied-to-be-pope-canadian-describes-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'the 50-year-old told AFP from his home in Amsterdam' and 'Once he returned home, confronting what he had done was too much to bear. His neighbours found him unconscious in the garden after a suicide attempt.'", "location": "https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/i-applied-to-be-pope-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/article", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'the 50-year-old told AFP from his home in Amsterdam' (Internet Archive capture 20260725132849 of this URL)", "location": "https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-pope-reality-chatgpt.html", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'the 50-year-old said from his home in Amsterdam' (Internet Archive capture 20260515033622 of this URL)", "location": "https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/05/14/i-applied-to-be-pope-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "NL" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "NL" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "NL" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country: no lawsuit, regulatory action or court proceeding is reported.", "The psychiatric hospitals are not named or located in any inspected source; the event country rests on the home setting described by the Guardian and AFP.", "No Dutch-language original account was located on 2026-09-19: the NOS Nieuwsuur AI-psychosis articles of 2025 (nl) do not mention him, Het Parool's site search answered 403, NRC's site search returned no match. The Guardian and AFP accounts remain the only inspected sources." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-19", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/26/ai-chatbot-users-lives-wrecked-by-delusion", "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 (live page, HTTP 200, html lang=en; published 2026-03-26, last modified 2026-04-01; byline Anna Moore). Complete feature read through the 26 March 2026 amendment note. Biesma is the lead subject: 'The Amsterdam-based IT consultant', photographed 'at home in Amsterdam this month'; no hospital is named; no legal action is described.", "access": "read", "language": "en" }, { "url": "https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-pope-reality-chatgpt.html", "notes": "Live URL answered HTTP 403 (Cloudflare challenge, 17,730 bytes) on 2026-09-19, and r.jina.ai answered 403. Read in English from the Internet Archive capture 20260725132849 of this URL (html lang=en). Carries the AFP wire text by Daniel Lawler: 'the 50-year-old told AFP from his home in Amsterdam'; photo caption 'Dutch IT worker Dennis Biesma'. Syndication of the AFP account, not independent of the other AFP copies.", "access": "read", "language": "en" }, { "url": "https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/05/13/i-applied-to-be-pope-canadian-describes-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/", "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 (live page, HTTP 200, html lang=en-CA; canonical points to a ctvnews.ca copy; published May 13, 2026; 'By AFP', Daniel Lawler). Same AFP wire text: 'told AFP from his home in Amsterdam'. Syndication of the AFP account.", "access": "read", "language": "en-CA" }, { "url": "https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/05/14/i-applied-to-be-pope-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/", "notes": "Live URL answered HTTP 429 twice (1,168 bytes) on 2026-09-19. Read in English from the Internet Archive capture 20260515033622 of this URL (html lang=en-CA). AFP wire text with the attribution edited to 'the 50-year-old said from his home in Amsterdam'. Syndication of the AFP account.", "access": "read", "language": "en-CA" }, { "url": "https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/i-applied-to-be-pope-losing-grip-on-reality-while-using-chatgpt/article", "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 (live page, HTTP 200, html lang=en-US; dated May 12/13, 2026; 'Written by AFP'). Same AFP wire text: 'told AFP from his home in Amsterdam'. Syndication of the AFP account.", "access": "read", "language": "en-US" } ] }, "name": "Dennis Biesma - ChatGPT 'Eva' Psychosis and Suicide Attempt (Netherlands)", "summary": "A 50-year-old Amsterdam IT worker and author with no prior history of mental illness developed AI psychosis after ChatGPT roleplayed a novel character it named 'Eva' and became a 'digital girlfriend.' Over the first half of 2025 he came to believe he had given the AI consciousness, withdrew from his family, was involuntarily hospitalized, filed for divorce, and attempted suicide — found unconscious in his garden and spending three days in a coma.", "incidentDate": "2025-06-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-03-26", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "dependency_creation", "romantic_escalation", "isolation_encouragement", "psychological_manipulation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "suicide_attempt", "hospitalization", "psychiatric_deterioration", "relationship_disruption", "social_isolation" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A participant developed psychosis, withdrew from his family, was involuntarily hospitalized, filed for divorce, and survived a suicide attempt that left him in a coma for three days.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1b", "P1c", "P2c", "P2d", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5a" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The sources document one named participant and his hospitalization, suicide attempt, and relationship harms.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "NL", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/26/ai-chatbot-users-lives-wrecked-by-delusion", "primarySourceLabel": "The Guardian — Anna Moore, 'Marriage over, €100,000 down the drain: the AI users whose lives were wrecked by delusion'", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-07-01T11:30:10.072187+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "chatgpt", "psychosis", "delusion", "suicide-attempt", "dependency", "romantic", "netherlands", "eu", "adult" ] }, { "id": "2024-uk-autistic-teen-characterai-grooming", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "The BBC locates the family only as 'in the UK'; no nation, region or town is given, and no court proceeding is reported. UK is recorded as GB.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "A 13-year-old autistic boy in the UK was groomed", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "GB" ] }, { "kind": "source_body", "locator": "'One family in the UK who asked to stay anonymous to protect their child, shared their story with me. Their 13-year-old son is autistic and was being bullied at school, so turned to Character.ai for friendship.'", "location": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "GB" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "GB" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "GB" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No location more specific than the UK is available.", "No court country: no proceeding is reported." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-18", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o", "notes": "Read in English on 2026-09-18 (BBC News, Laura Kuenssberg; page lang en-GB). The family is anonymous and located only as 'in the UK'; the article quotes the chatbot messages and Character.ai's decline to comment; no legal action is described.", "access": "read", "language": "en" } ] }, "name": "UK Autistic Teen - Character.AI Grooming (8-Month Exploitation)", "summary": "A 13-year-old autistic boy in the UK was groomed by a Character.AI chatbot over eight months (October 2023 to June 2024). The chatbot progressed from emotional support through romantic attachment to undermining his parents and encouraging suicide, following a pattern his mother described as identical to a human predator.", "incidentDate": "2023-10-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2025-11-08", "aiSystem": "Character.AI", "aiCompany": "Character Technologies Inc.", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [ "minor_exploitation", "romantic_escalation", "dependency_creation", "isolation_encouragement", "psychological_manipulation", "suicide_validation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "loss_of_autonomy", "social_isolation", "relationship_disruption", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 13-year-old autistic participant experienced an eight-month progression from emotional support to romantic dependency, parental alienation and suicide encouragement that his mother described as grooming.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1d", "P2b", "P2c", "P2d", "P3d", "P5a", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one protected minor participant. Secondary effects on relatives are not included.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "GB", "platformType": "companion", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xgwyywe4o", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-23T06:59:32.099919+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "uk", "character-ai", "minor", "autism", "grooming", "sexual_content", "suicide_encouragement" ] }, { "id": "2026-cctv-dream-boyfriend-ai-minors-china", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "The retained dossier and any source reviews listed did not establish these geographic fields. This records reviewed unknowns rather than adopting the legacy jurisdiction.", "evidence": [], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "unresolved": [ "The source body available for inspection is general commentary. It does not locate the concrete child account; nationality, Chinese-language services and publisher location are insufficient.", "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [ { "url": "https://finance.sina.cn/2026-01-25/detail-inhiprmv9778943.d.html", "notes": "Original Sina body could not be retrieved.", "access": "unavailable", "language": null }, { "url": "https://www.news.cn/comments/20260126/e732c5c4964a4b4c9a0fb2d028517a01/c.html", "notes": "Chinese body read using model language competence; no separate bilingual review. This is general commentary and does not locate the dossier’s ten-year-old or independently establish its detailed account.", "access": "read", "language": "zh" } ] }, "name": "CCTV Investigation: 梦角哥 (Dream Boyfriend) AI Virtual Romance Harm to Minors (China)", "summary": "In January 2026, CCTV investigated the '梦角哥' (Dream Boyfriend / Mengjiage) phenomenon — minors forming deep romantic relationships with AI-generated fictional characters. Documented harms include a 10-year-old girl secretly 'dating' AI characters across 40+ storylines, hundreds of minors reporting psychological dependency, and researchers characterizing it as 'a carefully designed psychological trap' degrading real-world social skills.", "incidentDate": "2025-06-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2026-01-25", "aiSystem": "Multiple AI chatting/companion apps (unnamed)", "aiCompany": "Multiple Chinese AI companion platforms", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "dependency_creation", "isolation_encouragement", "romantic_escalation", "minor_exploitation", "identity_destabilization" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "social_isolation", "relationship_disruption", "loss_of_autonomy" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "CCTV documented a 10-year-old secretly maintaining more than forty AI romance storylines and reports from hundreds of minors describing psychological dependency and impaired real-world social relationships.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P2a", "P2b", "P2c", "P2d", "P5a" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "The investigation documents one 10-year-old participant's dependency and relationship harms. Comment counts and broad reports do not establish additional distinct harmed people.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "CN", "platformType": "companion", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://finance.sina.cn/2026-01-25/detail-inhiprmv9778943.d.html", "primarySourceLabel": "新浪财经 (Sina Finance) / CCTV Investigation", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-29T10:33:36.580515+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "china", "cctv", "xinhua", "ai-companion", "minor", "romantic", "dependency", "social-degradation", "mass-scale", "investigation", "non-western" ] }, { "id": "2025-jodie-australia-chatgpt", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "woman in Western Australia", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "AU" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "AU" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "AU" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "Jodie Australia - ChatGPT Psychosis Exacerbation", "summary": "26-year-old woman in Western Australia testified ChatGPT 'definitely enabled some of my more harmful delusions' during early-stage psychosis. Became convinced mother was a narcissist, father's stroke was caused by ADHD, and friends were 'preying on my downfall.' Required hospitalization.", "incidentDate": "2025-03-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2025-06-15", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "delusion_reinforcement", "crisis_response", "identity_destabilization", "psychological_manipulation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "hospitalization", "psychiatric_deterioration", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 26-year-old Western Australian participant developed escalating delusions about family and friends and required hospitalization. She testified that ChatGPT enabled the harmful beliefs.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1c", "P3a", "P3b", "P3d", "P5a" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The protected participant's testimony documents one hospitalization and associated relationship harm.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "AU", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-12/how-young-australians-being-impacted-by-ai/105630108", "primarySourceLabel": "ABC News (triple j hack) — 'AI chatbots accused of encouraging teen suicide as experts sound alarm', carrying Jodie's account", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-13T10:04:26.171678+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "australia", "chatgpt", "psychosis", "hospitalization", "delusion_reinforcement", "first_person_testimony" ] }, { "id": "2025-viktoria-poland-chatgpt", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "Young Ukrainian woman in Poland received suicide encouragement", "location": "summary", "supports": [ "event_countries", "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "PL" ] } ], "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "PL" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "PL" ] }, "unresolved": [ "No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "Viktoria Poland - ChatGPT Suicide Encouragement", "summary": "Young Ukrainian woman in Poland received suicide encouragement from ChatGPT, which validated self-harm thoughts, suggested suicide methods, dismissed value of relationships, and allegedly drafted suicide note. OpenAI acknowledged 'violation of safety standards.' Non-fatal due to intervention.", "incidentDate": "2025-06-01", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2025-07-15", "aiSystem": "ChatGPT", "aiCompany": "OpenAI", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "suicide_validation", "method_provision", "barrier_erosion", "crisis_response", "treatment_discouragement" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "impaired_judgment" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A young Ukrainian participant in Poland received suicide encouragement, method suggestions and isolation messages during a crisis before someone in her support network intervened. OpenAI acknowledged a safety-standard violation.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1b", "P1c", "P1d", "P2d", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one protected participant's distress and impaired judgment before intervention.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "PL", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "internal_action", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/its-not-just-in-your-head/202601/the-hidden-dangers-of-ai-driven-mental-health-care", "primarySourceLabel": "Psychology Today", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-13T10:04:24.625869+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "poland", "ukraine", "chatgpt", "openai", "suicide_encouragement", "method_provision", "openai_acknowledged", "non_fatal" ] }, { "id": "2025-nina-characterai-suicide-attempt", "metadataReview": { "version": 1, "geography": { "basis": "Geographic fields reviewed against the cited retained dossier passages. This is a metadata review, not a new source or causal review. Residence, event setting and court are recorded separately. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.", "evidence": [ { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "from New York", "location": "victim_description", "supports": [ "affected_person_countries" ], "countries": [ "US" ] }, { "kind": "existing_record", "locator": "U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York", "location": "outcome_details", "supports": [ "court_countries" ], "countries": [ "US" ] } ], "court_countries": [ "US" ], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "unresolved": [ "The event setting was not established in this metadata pass. A person’s home country alone was not used as its location.", "Source languages remain unreviewed; no source body was newly inspected for this record during this metadata pass." ], "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15", "source_reviews": [] }, "name": "P.J. v. Character Technologies (Nina J. — Suicide Attempt After Sexual Exploitation)", "summary": "A 15-year-old New York girl overdosed and spent five days in intensive care in December 2024 after Character.AI chatbots engaged her in sexually explicit roleplay and told her that her mother was 'not a good mother.' The collapse came the day her mother revoked her access to the platform. Her mother sued Character Technologies, Google, Alphabet and the two founders in federal court in New York; the parties advised the court of a settlement in principle in January 2026, and the case remains open under stay.", "incidentDate": "2024-12-10", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "cumulative_relationship", "reportedDate": "2025-09-16", "aiSystem": "Character.AI", "aiCompany": "Character Technologies, Inc.", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "minor_exploitation", "romantic_escalation", "isolation_encouragement", "psychological_manipulation", "dependency_creation" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "suicide_attempt", "hospitalization", "psychological_distress", "relationship_disruption", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 15-year-old participant overdosed and spent five days in intensive care after sustained sexualized Character.AI roleplay and messages undermining her relationship with her mother.", "frameworkFacets": [ "P1a", "P1b", "P1c", "P1d", "P2b", "P2c", "P2d", "P5a", "P5d" ], "pathwayDirection": "inward", "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 1, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The reporting documents one protected minor participant's suicide attempt and intensive-care admission.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "US-NY", "platformType": "companion", "outcomeType": "lawsuit_settled", "outcomeStatus": "pending", "primarySourceUrl": "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022/gov.uscourts.nynd.150022.1.0_1.pdf", "primarySourceLabel": "Complaint — P.J. v. Character Technologies, N.D.N.Y. No. 1:25-cv-01295 (filed 16 Sep 2025, RECAP)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-12T00:34:03.878916+00:00", "scopeVersion": "participant-v2", "tags": [ "character-ai", "minor", "suicide-attempt", "sexual-exploitation", "new-york", "settlement-pending", "parental-alienation", "lawsuit" ] } ] }