{
  "meta": {
    "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T18:29:35.693Z",
    "formatVersion": 2,
    "selection": {
      "q": "relationship",
      "system": "",
      "harm": "",
      "context": "",
      "country": "",
      "role": "",
      "relation": "unknown",
      "evidence": "",
      "year": "2026",
      "response": "",
      "severity": "",
      "verification": "",
      "view": "incidents",
      "sort": "added"
    },
    "totalIncidents": 3,
    "coverage": {
      "cases": 3,
      "countries": 3,
      "languages": 1,
      "unknownLocation": 0,
      "locationPending": 0,
      "unknownLanguage": 2,
      "unknownDate": 0,
      "lawsuits": 0,
      "regulatory": 1,
      "minors": 0,
      "coreRelations": 0,
      "contextualRelations": 0,
      "mixedRelations": 0,
      "unknownRelations": 3,
      "relationPending": 3,
      "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-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-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": "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"
      ]
    }
  ]
}