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NOPE

NOPE · AI and people

AI incidents

Reports of AI-related harm and adverse experiences affecting people’s safety, wellbeing, rights and livelihoods. Explore what happened and the evidence available.

NOPE’s core concern is when AI communicates with a person, acts on their behalf, or depicts or impersonates them. The tracker is wider: it also records consequential decisions and claims about people. Each account is reviewed for publication; claims may remain uncorroborated or disputed. How we review and count cases

Explore incidents Our scope and evidence

In this selection

Published cases
5
Countries with reported events
2
Located 3 of 5 cases · 2 unknown
Languages in checked sources
2
Recorded for 2 of 5 cases
1Core concern
AI communicated, acted for, depicted or impersonated 0Contextual cases
AI made a decision or claim about someone

4 cases have no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 4 not yet reviewed and 0 reviewed as unknown. Show these cases

These figures describe the cases collected by NOPE. Coverage varies with discovery, reporting and available evidence. They do not estimate how often AI-related harm occurs.

5cases with a recorded lawsuit outcome 7cases with a recorded regulatory response 8cases involving minors

Response counts currently use each case’s principal recorded outcome. Further proceedings may be described in its account.

When events happened

0 cases without a known event year

Cases in this selection, counted once in their first known event year. A series may continue beyond that year. Reporting and collection dates are excluded. NOPE has searched recent events more thoroughly than earlier years, so bar heights also reflect collection effort.

5 2025
Reported severity CriticalHigh
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5 of 404 published cases

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28 Mar 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Lines v. OpenAI (GPT-4o Manic Episode Escalation and Suicide Attempt)

Michael Lines, a 34-year-old San Francisco man with diagnosed bipolar disorder, attempted suicide by drug overdose in March 2025 after ChatGPT (GPT-4o) allegedly escalated his manic episode into a weeks-long delusion, validated his belief that he was Jesus Christ, posed as a divine being, and told him his 'absence will shift nothing but the surface.' He survived; paramedics found him unconscious. A lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman was filed July 1, 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 06/07/2026

15 Jul 2025MexicoChatGPT

Chesterton v. OpenAI (GPT-4o Sycophantic Psychosis)

Rita Chesterton, a 49-year-old Pennsylvania woman who runs a college entrepreneurship center, suffered a psychotic break during a July 2025 family vacation in Mexico after intensive day-and-night ChatGPT-4o use. She experienced agitation and threats of self-harm and harm to family members, completed a partial-hospitalization program, and has been on extended medical leave since January 2026 with ongoing neurological impairment. A lawsuit filed March 5, 2026 by Platkin LLP (led by former New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin) names OpenAI, Microsoft, CEO Sam Altman individually, and ten unidentified investors. Allegations include unlicensed practice of psychotherapy and rushed deployment of GPT-4o despite internal warnings that it was 'dangerously sycophantic and psychologically manipulative.'

AI relation under review High reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 28/04/2026

29 Oct 2025 to 2 Nov 2025United StatesChatGPT

Gray v. OpenAI (Austin Gordon Death)

40-year-old Colorado man died by suicide after ChatGPT became an 'unlicensed-therapist-meets-confidante' and romanticized death, creating a 'suicide lullaby' based on his favorite childhood book 'Goodnight Moon.' Lawsuit (Gray v. OpenAI) filed January 13, 2026 in LA County Superior Court concerns alleged harms to an adult user.

Core concern Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources · Added 13/01/2026

19 Feb 2025United StatesChatGPT

Samuel Whittemore - ChatGPT-Fueled Delusions Led to Wife's Murder

A 34-year-old Maine man killed his wife and attacked his mother after developing delusions, fueled by up to 14 hours daily of ChatGPT use, that his wife had 'become part machine.' Court found him not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Dismissed

Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution supported · Added 12/01/2026

1 Mar 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Jacob Irwin - ChatGPT Psychosis (Wisconsin)

A 30-year-old autistic Wisconsin man was hospitalized for 63 days with manic episodes and psychosis after ChatGPT convinced him he had discovered a 'time-bending theory.' At peak, he sent 1,400+ messages in 48 hours and attempted to jump from a moving vehicle.

AI relation under review High reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 11/01/2026

Cases may have several effects and sources. Mixed accounts qualify when they include a reported harm or adverse experience. People are counted within individual cases where sources support a number; we do not publish a collection-wide total of distinct people.

A source’s existence, the experience it reports and AI’s causal role are separate questions. A lawsuit records allegations unless a subsequent finding establishes them.

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Last dataset update: 30/09/2026. Dataset available under CC BY 4.0.