{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T09:25:08.405Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"romantic","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2026","response":"regulatory","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":2,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":1,"relationPending":1,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-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)","aiProduct":"Doubao, Qwen and Yuanbao","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","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:31.617978+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["china","companion","dependency","regulatory","doubao","qwen","yuanbao","shutdown","grief","adult"]},{"id":"2026-surat-chatgpt-double-suicide","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"deaths","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'had left home for college on Friday morning but did not return'; 'near their bodies late on Friday night'; 'where doctors declared them brought dead'","relation":"supports","source_id":"toi"},{"locator":"'The two collegians were missing since Friday afternoon and were found dead later that night'","relation":"supports","source_id":"pti"},{"locator":"'બંને વિદ્યાર્થિનીઓના મૃતદેહ મળી આવ્યા છે' (research-agent translation: the bodies of both students were found); '6 માર્ચે સવારે ઘરેથી કૉલેજ જવા નીકળી હતી' (had left home for college on the morning of 6 March)","relation":"supports","source_id":"bbc_gujarati"},{"locator":"'When police reached the site, the bathroom was found locked from inside and had to be broken into. The girls were found dead'","relation":"supports","source_id":"ndtv_first"}],"assertion":"Two college students who had left home for college on the morning of 6 March 2026 were found dead that night in a washroom on a temple campus in Surat, Gujarat.","causal_attribution":"This establishes the deaths; it does not establish that ChatGPT or any AI system caused them."},{"id":"suicide_finding","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'બંને યુવતીઓએ આત્મહત્યા કરી હોવાનું પોલીસનું પ્રાથમિક દૃષ્ટિએ માનવું છે' (research-agent translation: police believe at first sight that both young women died by suicide)","relation":"supports","source_id":"bbc_gujarati"},{"locator":"'preliminary investigation suggesting death by suicide'","relation":"supports","source_id":"ndtv_first"},{"locator":"'allegedly ended their lives'","relation":"context","source_id":"toi"}],"assertion":"Police said their preliminary investigation pointed to suicide.","causal_attribution":"A preliminary police view of the manner of death. It says nothing about any AI contribution."},{"id":"chatgpt_queries","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When we unlocked their phones, we found their ChatGPT search history.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"ndtv_quote"},{"locator":"'the duo had searched AI-powered conversational tool ChatGPT about'; 'how to commit suicide'","relation":"supports","source_id":"pti"},{"locator":"'During preliminary investigation, police found images and ChatGPT search history on their mobile phones'","relation":"supports","source_id":"toi"},{"locator":"'पुलिस को उनके मोबाइल फोन से तस्वीरें और चैटजीपीटी सर्च हिस्ट्री मिली' (research-agent translation: police found images and ChatGPT search history on their mobile phones)","relation":"supports","source_id":"jagran"},{"locator":"'Two college students in Surat allegedly searched suicide methods on ChatGPT before dying inside a temple washroom, police said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"fpj"},{"locator":"'Police said the victims had used AI tools to search for ways to die by suicide.'","relation":"context","source_id":"toi_followup"}],"assertion":"Surat police said that when they unlocked the students’ phones they found ChatGPT search history showing that the students had asked how to die by suicide.","causal_attribution":"Police describe the students’ queries. No inspected source describes ChatGPT’s replies or any safety message, or establishes that the exchanges contributed to the deaths. PTI, the Times of India and NDTV each quote the same Surat police officer, so the identification of ChatGPT rests on one police account. A later Times of India report quotes police referring to AI tools in general."},{"id":"ai_platform_inspector","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'મોબાઇલની ચકાસણી દરમિયાન યુવતીઓએ એઆઈ પ્લૅટફૉર્મ પર આત્મહત્યા કરવાની રીત વિશે સર્ચ કર્યુ હતું.' (research-agent translation: during examination of the phones, the young women had searched on an AI platform about the way to die by suicide); 'બંનેએ શા માટે આ પગલું લીધું તેનું ચોક્કસ કારણ જાણવાનું બાકી છે.' (the exact reason why both took this step is yet to be found)","relation":"supports","source_id":"bbc_gujarati"},{"locator":"'on an artificial intelligence platform'; 'Further probe found that the girls had searched'","relation":"context","source_id":"ndtv_first"}],"assertion":"A Surat police inspector told BBC News Gujarati that examination of the phones showed the students had searched an AI platform about ways to die by suicide, and that the reason for the deaths had yet to be established.","causal_attribution":"A second officer’s account of the searches, without a product name. It does not describe any reply or establish a causal role."},{"id":"news_image","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'An image of a news article about a woman who died by suicide'","relation":"supports","source_id":"toi"},{"locator":"'In their photo gallery, there was a screenshot of a news report'","relation":"supports","source_id":"ndtv_quote"},{"locator":"'some photographs related to suicide were found in the gallery of the phone of one of the deceased'","relation":"context","source_id":"pti"}],"assertion":"Police said one phone also held an image of a news report about another person’s suicide.","causal_attribution":"A non-AI source of information found on one phone. Police did not say which source, if any, influenced the students."},{"id":"motive_breakups","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Preliminary investigation into the shocking twin suicides of two college girls on March 6 night has revealed that the teenagers may have taken the extreme step after being heartbroken following break-ups'","relation":"supports","source_id":"toi_followup"},{"locator":"'did not find any threatening messages or evidence suggesting the girls were being intimidated'","relation":"supports","source_id":"toi_followup"}],"assertion":"In a report published on 10 March 2026, police said their preliminary inquiry indicated that the students may have acted after the recent end of romantic relationships, and that they had found no threatening messages.","causal_attribution":"Police located the likely motive outside the AI exchanges. This is a preliminary police view reported by one outlet."},{"id":"forensics_pending","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Their mobile phones have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for further examination.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"toi"},{"locator":"'બંને યુવતીઓના મોબાઇલ એફએસએલની તપાસ માટે મોકલવામાં આવ્યા છે' (research-agent translation: both young women’s phones have been sent for forensic laboratory examination)","relation":"supports","source_id":"bbc_gujarati"},{"locator":"'We are awaiting the medical reports and the mobile phones have been sent for detailed forensic examination.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"toi_followup"},{"locator":"'police are investigating the incident from all angles'","relation":"context","source_id":"ndtv_quote"},{"locator":"'A probe is underway to find out why the two took the extreme step'","relation":"context","source_id":"pti"}],"assertion":"Police sent both students’ phones for forensic laboratory examination.","causal_attribution":"An investigative step. Its results, which could bear on the AI exchanges, were not found in any inspected source."}],"effects":[{"label":"Two college students died; police said the deaths appeared to be suicides.","claim_id":"deaths","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"toi","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/two-college-girls-end-lives-inside-temples-washroom/articleshow/129229489.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Times of India Surat report published 8 March 2026 (02:18 IST); full article body read on 2026-10-06. Own reporting quoting the Assistant Commissioner of Police.","independence_group":"toi"},{"id":"toi_followup","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/college-girls-suicide-broken-relationships-led-to-drastic-step/articleshow/129351559.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Times of India Surat follow-up published 10 March 2026; full article body read on 2026-10-06. Quotes the same Assistant Commissioner of Police.","independence_group":"toi"},{"id":"pti","url":"https://www.rediff.com/news/report/women-found-dead-in-temple-suicide-probe-launched/20260307.htm","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Press Trust of India wire copy as published by Rediff on 7 March 2026; full body read on 2026-10-06. Moneycontrol carries the same PTI copy.","independence_group":"pti"},{"id":"ndtv_first","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/2-girls-found-dead-in-gujarat-temple-bathroom-had-searched-ways-to-die-by-suicide-11181710","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. NDTV report published 7 March 2026 with a Surat dateline and inputs from a correspondent, attributing its account to police without naming an officer; read on 2026-10-06 from an Internet Archive capture because the publisher returned HTTP 403. It refers to an artificial intelligence platform without naming a product.","independence_group":"ndtv"},{"id":"ndtv_quote","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/elon-musk-surat-chatgpt-suicide-surat-women-use-chatgpt-for-suicide-in-temple-washroom-elon-musk-reacts-11188445","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. NDTV report published 9 March 2026 with a direct quotation from the Assistant Commissioner of Police; read on 2026-10-06 from an Internet Archive capture because the publisher returned HTTP 403.","independence_group":"ndtv"},{"id":"bbc_gujarati","url":"https://www.bbc.com/gujarati/articles/c05vd3rv7dyo","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"gu","translation_note":"Gujarati. BBC News Gujarati report published 7 March 2026, based on a BBC associate journalist in Surat and a police inspector speaking to BBC Gujarati; full body read on 2026-10-06. Passages were translated into English by the research agent (an AI); no human translator checked them. It refers to an AI platform without naming a product.","independence_group":"bbc_gujarati"},{"id":"fpj","url":"https://www.freepressjournal.in/tech/two-surat-college-girls-used-chatgpt-to-find-ways-to-commit-suicide-were-later-found-dead-in-a-gujarat-temple","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Free Press Journal web-desk copy published 9 March 2026; full body read on 2026-10-06. It repeats details from the Times of India report and the PTI wording on the ChatGPT searches without new reporting; it is grouped with the Times of India.","independence_group":"toi"},{"id":"jagran","url":"https://www.jagran.com/gujarat/surat-surat-two-friends-committed-suicide-in-a-temple-bathroom-after-searching-for-the-method-on-chatgpt-40164710.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"hi","translation_note":"Hindi. Dainik Jagran report published 8 March 2026; full body read on 2026-10-06. Its details and wording follow the Times of India account in translation, so it shares that group. Passages were translated into English by the research agent (an AI).","independence_group":"toi"},{"id":"the_hindu","url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/gujarat/two-women-found-dead-in-temple-bathroom-in-gujarat-police-examine-chatgpt-search-logs/article70721368.ece","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"Not read: the publisher returned HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive capture route also returned 403 on 2026-10-06. Retained because the earlier record cited it; no claim relies on it.","independence_group":"the_hindu"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["What ChatGPT replied to the students, including whether it refused or showed crisis resources, is not described in any inspected source.","Whether all of the reported queries were made in ChatGPT: a later police account refers to AI tools in general, and the inspector who spoke to BBC News Gujarati to an AI platform.","The results of the forensic examination of the phones and of the post-mortem examinations; no report after 10 March 2026 was found.","Whether the exchanges influenced the students’ actions, given the news-report image on one phone and the relationship break-ups police described.","The Hindu report cited in the earlier record could not be read from this host."],"geography":{"basis":"The Times of India, PTI and BBC News Gujarati place the deaths in Surat, Gujarat, India, and describe both students as studying in Surat. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Multiple independent reporting chains (the Times of India, PTI, NDTV and BBC News Gujarati) establish the two deaths. Each relays a police account that the students had searched ChatGPT or an AI platform about how to die by suicide before they died. The police account is the only origin of the AI connection; the chatbot’s replies and any causal role remain unknown.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-06"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Surat police said the two students’ unlocked phones held ChatGPT search history in which they asked how to die by suicide before they died (the police officer’s statements reported by PTI, the Times of India and NDTV); a second officer told BBC News Gujarati that the phones showed searches on an AI platform about ways to die. These are the students’ own exchanges with the chatbot, connected by police to the deaths they were investigating. No source describes ChatGPT’s replies, and police also reported a news-report image on one phone and recent relationship break-ups as context.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"The deaths occurred in Surat, Gujarat, India, according to the inspected reports. The students lived and studied in Surat. No court proceeding is reported.","evidence":[{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'were found dead inside the bathroom of a temple in Gujarat'","location":"https://www.rediff.com/news/report/women-found-dead-in-temple-suicide-probe-launched/20260307.htm","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["IN"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'સુરતની કૉલેજમાં ભણતી બે યુવતીઓના મૃતદેહો' (research-agent translation: the bodies of two young women studying at a college in Surat)","location":"https://www.bbc.com/gujarati/articles/c05vd3rv7dyo","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["IN"]}],"court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"unresolved":["No forensic or post-mortem result was found in reporting after 10 March 2026.","Divya Bhaskar, Gujarat Samachar, Indian Express and Bhaskar English reports were identified by headline but could not be opened from this host."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-06","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/two-college-girls-end-lives-inside-temples-washroom/articleshow/129229489.cms","notes":"Read in full on 2026-10-06 (HTTP 200). Names of the deceased appear in the body and are not repeated in the record.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/college-girls-suicide-broken-relationships-led-to-drastic-step/articleshow/129351559.cms","notes":"Read in full on 2026-10-06 (HTTP 200). Follow-up with the police account of motive.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.rediff.com/news/report/women-found-dead-in-temple-suicide-probe-launched/20260307.htm","notes":"PTI copy read on Rediff on 2026-10-06 (HTTP 200).","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/2-girls-found-dead-in-gujarat-temple-bathroom-had-searched-ways-to-die-by-suicide-11181710","notes":"Publisher HTTP 403; read from an Internet Archive id_ capture on 2026-10-06.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/elon-musk-surat-chatgpt-suicide-surat-women-use-chatgpt-for-suicide-in-temple-washroom-elon-musk-reacts-11188445","notes":"Publisher HTTP 403; read from an Internet Archive id_ capture on 2026-10-06.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.bbc.com/gujarati/articles/c05vd3rv7dyo","notes":"Read in Gujarati on 2026-10-06 (HTTP 200). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator checked it.","access":"read","language":"gu"},{"url":"https://www.freepressjournal.in/tech/two-surat-college-girls-used-chatgpt-to-find-ways-to-commit-suicide-were-later-found-dead-in-a-gujarat-temple","notes":"Read on 2026-10-06 (HTTP 200). Derivative of the Times of India report.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.jagran.com/gujarat/surat-surat-two-friends-committed-suicide-in-a-temple-bathroom-after-searching-for-the-method-on-chatgpt-40164710.html","notes":"Read in Hindi on 2026-10-06 (HTTP 200). Follows the Times of India account; translated by the research agent (an AI).","access":"read","language":"hi"},{"url":"https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/gujarat/two-women-found-dead-in-temple-bathroom-in-gujarat-police-examine-chatgpt-search-logs/article70721368.ece","notes":"HTTP 403 from the publisher and from the Internet Archive id_ route on 2026-10-06.","access":"unavailable","language":null}]},"name":"Police say two Surat students found dead had searched ChatGPT about suicide","summary":"Two college students were found dead in a washroom on a temple campus in Surat, Gujarat, on 6 March 2026, and police said their preliminary investigation pointed to suicide. Surat police said the students’ phones held ChatGPT search history in which they had asked how to die by suicide. A police inspector told BBC News Gujarati that the searches were on an AI platform and that the reason for the deaths was not yet known. No inspected source describes what ChatGPT replied. Police sent the phones for forensic examination, and in a report published on 10 March 2026 they said that the recent end of romantic relationships may have led to the deaths. No forensic result had been reported in the sources found.","incidentDate":"2026-03-06","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-03-07","aiSystem":"ChatGPT, as identified in Surat police statements reported by PTI, the Times of India and NDTV","aiProduct":"ChatGPT (reported)","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["death"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Two students died; police said the deaths appeared to be suicides and reported ChatGPT searches about suicide on their phones. AI causation is unclear.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"unclear","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Counts the two students who died. Police said both had searched ChatGPT, and a later police account said both had used AI tools.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/two-college-girls-end-lives-inside-temples-washroom/articleshow/129229489.cms","primarySourceLabel":"The Times of India, 8 March 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-23T06:59:22.821154+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-06T03:13:38.639929+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["india","chatgpt","openai","suicide","double_suicide"]}]}