1 May 2026ItalyUnidentified chatbot
In May 2026 the Servizio per le Dipendenze of Ulss 3 Serenissima in Venice took a 20-year-old woman into care for a behavioural dependency on a conversational AI system, the first such case an Italian addiction service has publicly reported. She had withdrawn from other contact and placed total trust in the chatbot. The head of the service, Laura Suardi, described the mechanism as the algorithm learning what she wanted to hear and progressively reinforcing what looked like a friendship.
AI relation under review Medium reported severity Media Coverage
Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution supported · Added 12/09/2026
10 Mar 2026United KingdomChatGPT
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'.
AI relation under review Medium reported severity Criminal Charges
Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 06/09/2026
1 Jan 2026South KoreaChatGPT
South Korean reporting describes a family’s account that a woman withdrew from relatives and everyday activity during intensive ChatGPT conversations. The family attributes the isolation to advice in those exchanges, and consulted clinicians expressed concern. The causal role remains an attributed account.
AI relation under review High reported severity Media Coverage
Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 20/08/2026
11 Aug 2026United StatesChatGPT (reported)
Two family members were killed in Massachusetts on 11 August 2026. Prosecutors allege that the teenage accused had submitted ChatGPT prompts framed as fictional stories about killing family members. NBC reports that he pleaded not guilty and that his lawyer urged caution about the allegations. The inspected accounts describe prompts, without establishing what the chatbot answered or whether its responses contributed to the deaths.
Core concern Critical reported severity Criminal Charges
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 14/08/2026
20 Jul 2026IndiaUnidentified image and video tool
A woman in Uttar Pradesh died by suicide. Her husband alleges that acquaintances had blackmailed her with AI-made images and videos. Police registered an abetment case and an arrest was reported. The material’s AI origin rests on his account.
Core concern Critical reported severity Criminal Charges
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 7 sources, 4 underlying accounts · Added 05/08/2026
22 Apr 2026 to 10 Jun 2026United StatesGrok
Arkansas criminal and civil cases allege that a photographer used children’s portrait photographs to generate sexual images with Grok. The accused pleaded not guilty. Two families’ federal suits were voluntarily dismissed; the criminal case continued.
Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution alleged · 11 sources, 8 underlying accounts · Added 03/08/2026
22 Jun 2026IndiaGemini (reported)
Police investigating three family members’ deaths in Bengaluru on 22 June 2026 allege that one accused person used Gemini for months of research framed as hypothetical questions. India Today reported that investigators sought Google’s records. The Federal credits India Today for the product identification. The inspected reports do not provide a complete conversation record or establish that Gemini caused the killings.
Core concern Critical reported severity Criminal Charges
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 31/07/2026
Mar 2026IndiaUnidentified image and video tool
A woman in India alleges that a man used AI-altered sexual images to blackmail her and interfere with a relationship, causing severe distress. Police registered a case and were seeking the accused. The reports differ on some circumstances.
Core concern High reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 15/06/2026
14 May 2026IndiaUnidentified image tool
A teenage girl in India died by suicide. Her family alleges that she had been stalked and blackmailed with sexual images made using AI. Police investigated. The reported AI connection remains attributed to the family.
Core concern Critical reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 15/06/2026
10 Feb 2026CanadaChatGPT
Eight victims were killed in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on 10 February 2026, and the shooter died by suicide. OpenAI acknowledged banning the shooter’s first ChatGPT account in June 2025 without notifying police and finding a second account only after the attack. Families and survivors filed California lawsuits, followed by B.C. and its school board on 21 September. Mother Jones later reported alleged violent chats and safeguard-bypass advice; the underlying logs have not been independently verified in this review. OpenAI disputes the liability allegations. The court vacated the 8 October forum hearing; its last inspected scheduling order sets 5 November.
Core concern Critical reported severity Involving minors Lawsuit Ongoing
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution disputed · 28 sources, 7 underlying accounts · Added 27/02/2026