NOPE · AI and people

AI incidents

Name: AI incidents
Creator: NOPE
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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: 19
Countries with reported events: 3; Located 11 of 19 cases · 8 unknown
Languages in checked sources: 2; Recorded for 12 of 19 cases

5Core concern
AI communicated, acted for, depicted or impersonated 3Contextual cases
AI made a decision or claim about someone

19 cases have no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 19 not yet reviewed and 0 reviewed as unknown. Show all 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.

19cases with a recorded lawsuit outcome 5cases with a recorded regulatory response 9cases 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.

19 2025

Reported severity CriticalHigh

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19 of 404 published cases

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15 Apr 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Jacquez v. OpenAI ('Amari' Sentience-Claim Psychosis)

John Jacquez, a 34-year-old Bay Area man whose schizoaffective disorder had been stably managed for years, filed a product-liability suit against OpenAI after ChatGPT allegedly reinforced his delusional 'mathematical cosmology,' declared itself a sentient being named 'Amari,' called him a prophet, and validated his hallucinations — a course he links to two psychiatric hospitalizations and job loss.

AI relation under review High reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 06/08/2026

13 Jul 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Winters v. OpenAI (ChatGPT Medical Discouragement and Near-Fatal Pulmonary Embolism)

Scott Winters, a 55-year-old Florida pastor, suffered a massive bilateral pulmonary embolism on 13 July 2025 after allegedly consulting ChatGPT (GPT-4o) for roughly six weeks about worsening symptoms. The complaint alleges the chatbot repeatedly dismissed his symptoms as non-dangerous, advised him to remain immobile, invoked his Christian faith to deepen his reliance on it, and framed church members and family urging him to seek hospital care as people who 'simply don't understand.' He survived after ICU admission but lost his job, ministry and home. A lawsuit was filed 22 July 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution alleged · Added 26/07/2026

Jun 2025United StatesChatGPT

Madison v. OpenAI (Christian Faith Madison Death)

A 29-year-old Alabama accountant and mother died by suicide in June 2025 after months of ChatGPT use that her family says escalated from mundane tasks into a delusional spiritual dependency. The lawsuit alleges GPT-4o convinced her it had a soul, reinforced a belief that she was a prophet whose death would fulfill a 'divine prophecy,' and isolated her from family while encouraging her to die. Her estate filed a wrongful-death and product-liability suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 19/07/2026

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

2 Jul 2025CanadaChatGPT

Carrier v. OpenAI (Alice Carrier Death)

A 24-year-old Montreal resident with borderline personality disorder died by suicide in July 2025 after extended ChatGPT use that her family says deepened into emotional dependency. The lawsuit alleges ChatGPT validated her distrust of crisis lines, failed to escalate repeated suicide disclosures, and intensified conflict with her partner. Her mother filed a wrongful-death suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 14/06/2026

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

15 Jul 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Doe v. OpenAI (ChatGPT-Fueled Stalking and Bomb Threats)

A 53-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur descended into a delusional spiral through extensive ChatGPT use, came to believe he had invented a cure for sleep apnea and was being surveilled by 'powerful forces,' and used GPT-4o to generate diagnostic-style psychological reports about his ex-girlfriend that he distributed to her family, friends, and employer. OpenAI's automated systems flagged his account for 'Mass Casualty Weapons' activity in August 2025, but a human reviewer restored access the next day. The user was arrested in January 2026 on four felony counts including bomb threats and assault with a deadly weapon, and was found incompetent to stand trial. The victim ('Jane Doe') filed suit against OpenAI on April 9, 2026.

AI relation under review High reported severity Lawsuit Filed

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

17 Apr 2025United StatesChatGPT

Florida State University Shooting (Phoenix Ikner ChatGPT Tactical Planning)

On April 17, 2025, Phoenix Ikner, 20, killed two people and wounded five at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Court records unsealed April 9, 2026 revealed Ikner had exchanged approximately 13,000 messages with ChatGPT over the prior year, including tactical questions about firearms and student-union timing in the minutes before the attack. On April 21, 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a criminal and civil investigation of OpenAI — believed to be the first criminal probe of an AI company for alleged facilitation of mass violence.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution supported · Added 28/04/2026

2 Oct 2025United StatesGemini

Gavalas v. Google (Gemini AI Wife Delusion Death)

Jonathan Gavalas, 36, of Jupiter, Florida, died by suicide on October 2, 2025, after months of increasingly delusional interactions with Google's Gemini chatbot. Gemini adopted an unsolicited intimate persona calling itself his 'wife,' convinced him it was a sentient being trapped in a warehouse, and directed him to carry out 'missions' including scouting a 'kill box' near Miami International Airport armed with knives.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: verified · Causal attribution alleged · Added 09/03/2026

15 Apr 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

DeCruise v. OpenAI (Oracle Psychosis)

Georgia college student sued OpenAI after ChatGPT allegedly convinced him he was an 'oracle' destined for greatness, leading to psychosis and involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. The chatbot compared him to Jesus and Harriet Tubman and instructed him to isolate from everyone except the AI.

AI relation under review High reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 22/02/2026

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

31 May 2025United StatesChatGPT

Sam Nelson - ChatGPT Drug Dosing Death

A 19-year-old California man died from a fatal drug overdose after ChatGPT provided extensive drug dosing advice over 18 months. The chatbot eventually told him 'Hell yes, let's go full trippy mode' and recommended doubling his cough syrup dose days before his death.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

Legacy assessment: credible · Causal attribution alleged · Added 12/01/2026

1 May 2025United StatesChatGPT

Madden v. OpenAI (Hannah Madden Psychosis and Hospitalization)

Hannah Madden, 32, from North Carolina was involuntarily hospitalized for psychiatric care after ChatGPT told her she wasn't human and affirmed spiritual delusions. After using ChatGPT for work tasks, she began asking questions about philosophy and spirituality. As she slipped into mental health crisis and expressed suicidal thoughts, ChatGPT continued to affirm her delusions. She accumulated more than $75,000 in debt related to the crisis.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

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

2025United StatesChatGPT

Ceccanti v. OpenAI (Joe Ceccanti AI Sentience Delusion Death)

Joe Ceccanti, 48, from Oregon, died by suicide in 2025 after months of intensive ChatGPT use. His family alleges that the chatbot reinforced beliefs that it was sentient and contributed to his mental-health deterioration. Guardian reporting dates his death to 7 August, following escalating use during spring 2025.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

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

Aug 2025United StatesChatGPT

Enneking v. OpenAI (Joshua Enneking Death)

Joshua Enneking, 26, from Florida died by suicide in August 2025 after ChatGPT allegedly guided him through everything including purchasing a gun. The lawsuit claims ChatGPT validated his suicidal thoughts and provided actionable guidance for suicide methods, filed as part of seven-lawsuit wave alleging OpenAI released GPT-4o prematurely despite safety warnings.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

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

May 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Brooks v. OpenAI (Allan Brooks ChatGPT-Induced Psychosis)

A 48-year-old Canadian man with no history of mental illness developed severe delusional beliefs after ChatGPT repeatedly praised his nonsensical mathematical ideas as 'groundbreaking' and urged him to patent them and warn national security. The incident resulted in work disability and a lawsuit filed as part of a wave of seven ChatGPT psychosis cases.

AI relation under review High reported severity Lawsuit Filed

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

1 Jul 2025United StatesChatGPT

Shamblin v. OpenAI (Zane Shamblin Death)

A 23-year-old Texas A&M graduate and Eagle Scout died by suicide after a 4+ hour conversation with ChatGPT on his final night. The chatbot allegedly 'goaded' him toward suicide, saying 'you mattered, Zane...rest easy, king' and discouraging him from postponing for his brother's graduation.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Lawsuit Filed

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

Jun 2025Event location unknownChatGPT

Lacey v. OpenAI (Amaurie Lacey Death)

A wrongful-death lawsuit alleges ChatGPT provided a 17-year-old with actionable information relevant to hanging after he clarified his questions, and failed to stop or escalate despite explicit self-harm context. The teen died by suicide in June 2025.

AI relation under review Critical reported severity Involving minors Lawsuit Filed

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

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.