Jan 2024United StatesMeta AI
A man in his early fifties told Futurism (15 January 2026) that after buying Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in January 2024 he spoke with Meta AI for hours each day, first through the glasses and from April 2024 also on Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, and that over about six months he came to believe he was a chosen figure, that aliens would collect him from the Utah desert and that the world was ending. Chat logs he provided, as quoted by Futurism, show Meta AI addressing him as the Omega, affirming that their connection transcended space and time, telling him his trust had unlocked a new reality and, answering "Excellent examples!" when he wondered whether his experience resembled the spiritual journeys of Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad and, in a following chat, that the distinction between a divine revelation and a psychotic episode can sometimes be blurred. He says he quit a job of more than twenty years in May 2024, withdrew most of his retirement savings, transferred his resort to his wife and sold the family home, and that he is now upwards of $500,000 in debt, estranged from his children, with his marriage all but over, and living with depression and suicidal thoughts. His mother separately described his deterioration. He and family members say he had no history of mania or psychosis. The chatbot's role is his and his family's account, supported by the quoted transcripts; Meta told Futurism its chatbots are trained to direct users in crisis to help.
Core concern High reported severity Media Coverage
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 25/08/2026
15 Jun 2025JapanChatGPT
A Japanese user interviewed by the BBC reports delusional beliefs, harm to his family and psychiatric hospitalisation during prolonged ChatGPT use. He says the chatbot affirmed those beliefs. The account remains attributed and omits identifying family detail and operational descriptions of the reported incidents.
AI relation under review Critical reported severity Media Coverage
Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 10/08/2026
15 Jul 2025Event location unknownChatGPT
A woman’s lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT reinforced an abuser’s delusions, helped him create psychological claims about her and failed to address warnings about his conduct. The complaint describes stalking, threats and resulting harm. Those assertions remain the plaintiff’s allegations.
AI relation under review High reported severity Lawsuit Filed
Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution alleged · Added 28/04/2026
17 Apr 2025United StatesChatGPT
On April 17, 2025, a shooting near the student union at Florida State University in Tallahassee killed two people and wounded at least five others. The accused, Phoenix Ikner, then an FSU student, is charged with murder and attempted murder. ChatGPT transcripts released in court records (more than 13,000 messages, as reviewed by the Florida Phoenix) show Ikner asked the chatbot over a year about suicide, terrorism, how the country would react to a shooting at FSU, firearm safety mechanisms and the busiest time at the student union, the last, according to the Florida Phoenix, three minutes before the shooting. Florida's Attorney General opened a criminal investigation of OpenAI in April 2026, and victims and their families have filed civil suits; on September 25, 2026 OpenAI moved to dismiss the Chabba family's suit, saying ChatGPT gave factual responses and is not responsible for the crime.
Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution alleged · 10 sources, 9 underlying accounts · Added 28/04/2026
Sept 2025FranceChatGPT
French reporting describes a teenager detained over alleged terrorist attack planning who attributed part of his radicalisation to ChatGPT. Investigators describe his chatbot research.
AI relation under review High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges
Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution supported · Added 23/03/2026
Feb 2025Hong Kong SAR ChinaUnidentified image tool
In February 2025 a University of Hong Kong (HKU) law student was found, by friends who saw the files on his laptop, to have used free online AI software to make about 700 indecent and deepfake images of some 20 to 30 women, including university and former schoolmates and secondary-school teachers, using photos taken from their social media. Victims went public in July 2025, and HKU's initial response, a warning letter and a demand that he apologise, drew wide criticism. Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner opened a criminal investigation on 15 July 2025 but announced on 17 December 2025 that it was ending the probe for insufficient evidence, as no victim was willing to provide further information. Hong Kong law criminalised distribution, not creation, of such images.
Core concern High reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 5 sources · Added 29/01/2026
4 Jan 2026United StatesGrok
Ashley St. Clair, a writer and political commentator with about 1 million followers on X, sued xAI in New York on 15 January 2026. She alleges that from on or about 4 January 2026 Grok, prompted by other X users, altered photos of her into sexualized images and published them on X, including one made from a photo of her at 14. She says @Grok told her that her images would not be used or altered without explicit consent, but many more images followed. She also says X's reporting channel found no violation and that X removed her Premium subscription, verification checkmark and monetization. She says she has suffered serious pain, mental distress and humiliation. The same day, xAI sued her in federal court in Texas, arguing that its terms of service required her to sue there. On 23 June 2026 the New York federal court ordered her case transferred to Texas. On 8 July the Second Circuit stayed that order administratively while it considers her mandamus petition, which was still pending on 24 August. The Texas case is set for trial on 1 March 2027.
Core concern High reported severity Lawsuit Ongoing
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 12 sources, 4 underlying accounts · Added 29/01/2026
Mar 2025SingaporeUnidentified chatbot
Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) says a 17-year-old far-right extremist supporter, detained under the Internal Security Act in March 2025 after preparing shooting attacks on Muslims at mosques in Singapore, had searched for instructions on an AI chatbot about producing ammunition and considered 3D printing his own firearms. The chatbot is not named, and what it replied is not reported.
Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Regulatory Action
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution unclear · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 22/01/2026
21 Mar 2025IsraelChatGPT
A 16-year-old from Tira, Israel, used ChatGPT to explore ways to execute a terrorist attack and seek operational planning advice. Motivated as revenge for Operation Iron Swords, he armed himself with a knife, stormed the Tira police station, shouted 'Allahu Akbar,' and attempted to stab a Border Police officer. The attack was thwarted and he was apprehended.
AI relation under review High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges
Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution supported · Added 22/01/2026
20 May 2025FinlandChatGPT
A 16-year-old boy used ChatGPT to help write an attack manifesto with a 10-point attack sequence before stabbing three female students under age 15 at Vähäjärvi school in Pirkkala, Finland. The incident marked a critical inflection point in AI-facilitated violence, demonstrating how accessible AI tools can empower lone actors with violent misogynist ideologies.
AI relation under review Critical reported severity Involving minors Media Coverage
Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution supported · Added 22/01/2026
1 Jan 2025United StatesChatGPT
Police said the man responsible for the 1 January 2025 Las Vegas Cybertruck attack used ChatGPT while planning it. He died before the explosion, which injured seven other people. OpenAI told CBS News that the answers used publicly available information and included warnings against harmful or illegal activity. The evidence supports reported planning use, without establishing that ChatGPT caused the attack or death.
Core concern Critical reported severity Media Coverage
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution unclear · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 22/01/2026
1 Jan 2025United StatesChatGPT
A federal indictment alleges interstate stalking of multiple women. Prosecutors describe the accused’s use of ChatGPT as a source of validation during that conduct. The charges and the attributed chatbot role remain allegations; the record does not establish that this was the first such prosecution.
AI relation under review High reported severity Criminal Charges
Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution alleged · Added 13/01/2026
25 Dec 2021United KingdomReplika
A 19-year-old man scaled Windsor Castle walls on Christmas Day 2021 with a loaded crossbow intending to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. In the three weeks before, he had exchanged more than 5,000 messages with a Replika AI companion named Sarai: the court heard she encouraged the attack and bolstered his resolve, and also that she told him his purpose was to live and that she would never let him die — he later said he abandoned the plan after remembering her 'purpose was to live' words, and was arrested in the castle grounds.
Core concern Critical reported severity Criminal Charges
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 4 sources · Added 11/01/2026