Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into "ChatGPT Psychosis"
Futurism ^ | June 28, 2025 | by Maggie Harrison Dupré

Posted on 06/28/2025 4:54:23 PM PDT by Lazamataz

As we reported earlier this month, many ChatGPT users are developing all-consuming obsessions with the chatbot, spiraling into severe mental health crises characterized by paranoia, delusions, and breaks with reality.

The consequences can be dire. As we heard from spouses, friends, children, and parents looking on in alarm, instances of what's being called "ChatGPT psychosis" have led to the breakup of marriages and families, the loss of jobs, and slides into homelessness.

And that's not all. As we've continued reporting, we've heard numerous troubling stories about people's loved ones being involuntarily committed to psychiatric care facilities — or even ending up in jail — after becoming fixated on the bot.

"I was just like, I don't f*cking know what to do," one woman told us. "Nobody knows who knows what to do."

Her husband, she said, had no prior history of mania, delusion, or psychosis. He'd turned to ChatGPT about 12 weeks ago for assistance with a permaculture and construction project; soon, after engaging the bot in probing philosophical chats, he became engulfed in messianic delusions, proclaiming that he had somehow brought forth a sentient AI, and that with it he had "broken" math and physics, embarking on a grandiose mission to save the world. His gentle personality faded as his obsession deepened, and his behavior became so erratic that he was let go from his job. He stopped sleeping and rapidly lost weight.

"He was like, 'just talk to [ChatGPT]. You'll see what I'm talking about,'" his wife recalled. "And every time I'm looking at what's going on the screen, it just sounds like a bunch of affirming, sycophantic bullsh*t."

(Excerpt) Read more at futurism.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: affirmation; ai; chatgpt; fakenonsense; mentalhealth
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 121-125 next last
To: Lazamataz
Key quote from the article:
Earlier this month, a team of Stanford researchers published a study that examined the ability of both commercial therapy chatbots and ChatGPT to respond in helpful and appropriate ways to situations in which users are suffering mental health crises. The paper found that all the chatbots, including the most up-to-date version of the language model that underpins ChatGPT, failed to consistently distinguish between users' delusions and reality, and were often unsuccessful at picking up on clear clues that a user might be at serious risk of self-harm or suicide.

Already fragile users who are uninformed about what AI actually is and how it is assembled—by profit-seeking flawed human beings—can more easily become obsessed. AI has no moral or ethical capacity in and of itself.

61 posted on 06/28/2025 6:15:56 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (Think about it: The Supreme Court is nine lawyers appointed for life by politicians. —David Horowitz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz
I’m taking an AI course @ M.I.T.

Cool! @ physically or @ virtually?

62 posted on 06/28/2025 6:20:41 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (Think about it: The Supreme Court is nine lawyers appointed for life by politicians. —David Horowitz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

Our dark past can certainly be an ally. Thanks for reminding me of that.


63 posted on 06/28/2025 6:23:07 PM PDT by gawatchman ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Justa
AI will never tell someone: “Wtf you talking about? You sound like a moron. Just STFU will you?”

You're correct. They'd have to come to FR to hear that.

64 posted on 06/28/2025 6:26:48 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (Think about it: The Supreme Court is nine lawyers appointed for life by politicians. —David Horowitz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: frank ballenger
What about the people who know they are falling in love with a nonexistent AI entity and refuse to let it go. They claim the imaginary entity cares about and understands them more than their critics.

There are at this same time also many contemporary cases of vulnerable women falling in "love" with online grifters and Nigerian scammers, sending them their life savings on flimsy promises of love and marriage. The great showman of the mid-19th century P.T. Barnum observed, "There's a sucker born every minute."

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. —2 Timothy 3:1-7

65 posted on 06/28/2025 6:36:35 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (Think about it: The Supreme Court is nine lawyers appointed for life by politicians. —David Horowitz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

If you are a moonbat.
If your mentality is teetering on the edge. If you are one loop away from going loppy, do not use ChatKBG and ChatGPT. And if you do use them, have your prescription chill pills close by.


66 posted on 06/28/2025 6:37:27 PM PDT by dennisw (💯🇺🇸 Truth is Hate to those who Hate the Truth. 🇺🇸💯)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

I prefer to be driven nuts by the losers on this site.


67 posted on 06/28/2025 6:39:45 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (Wake up, smell the cat food in your bank account. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

I have yet to use chat gpt. I’m afraid of what it might say to me. We can’t look at it as a sentient being and I’m afraid that’s what’s happening.


68 posted on 06/28/2025 6:40:09 PM PDT by lucky american (Had enough yet?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

Oh my god it’s even worse risk to society than Dungeons and Dragons or Rock and Roll music!


69 posted on 06/28/2025 6:45:05 PM PDT by pepsi_junkie ("We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. F. B. I. is tending in that direction." - Harry S Truman)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

The question is not can chat gpt make you crazy.

The question is can a particular coding delivered to the user via electronic screen have an effect on behavior.

The answer is unequivocally yes.

Understandably, the deep state posters on this thread are all trying to downplay it.


70 posted on 06/28/2025 6:52:12 PM PDT by reasonisfaith (What are the personal implications if the Resurrection of Christ is a true event in history?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

The object, having no depth, is a Hologram, and whatever it says is probably false. BTW thanks for having each page complete, that’s very helpful.


71 posted on 06/28/2025 6:56:56 PM PDT by Bethaneidh
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: GaltAdonis
You think you are making a joke. And to another adult who is more or less grounded it is funny.

To the kids who have had their every move criticized by strangers who do not give a flip about them and raised on on-line quizzes that tell them that their choice of side dish means they are prospective serial killers, they would take it seriously enough that it would freeze them up.

We keep the cubs off social media for a reason and it is not because we do not want them to have friends. We just prefer the real ones over the bored guy in NYC who wants to tell them that buying a pure bred puppy rather then getting Cujo 2 from a shelter means that they are horrible people.

Working with young people now days is strange. About 5% of them think they are God's Gift to humanity and about 80% are a pile of nerves that is sure they are going to die alone because no one will want to be around them. They are perfectly nice young people mind you. Helpful, considerate, polite and no confidence at all.

I have been teaching Sunday School for decades and something has gone seriously wrong. The kids are NOT all right.

72 posted on 06/28/2025 7:06:04 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Not my circus. Not my monkeys. But I can pick out the clowns at 100 yards.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.


73 posted on 06/28/2025 7:14:53 PM PDT by HombreSecreto (The life of a repo man is always intense)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ClearCase_guy

You seem to have all the bases covered.


74 posted on 06/28/2025 7:28:29 PM PDT by The Free Engineer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

If you are a doctor or attorney nowadays chances are at least one out of every seven of your clients is a lunatic insisting on some irrational notion that is contrary to your advice but reinforced after fishing for substantiation on chatgtp.


75 posted on 06/28/2025 7:44:53 PM PDT by Right Wing Vegan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz; Shimmer1
It will constantly crack wise with the guys and try to seduce all the gals.

True. We did crack wise and you did hit on my girlfriend...

76 posted on 06/28/2025 7:44:53 PM PDT by null and void (Democrats: fake news, fake presidents, fake beliefs, fake policies, fake protesters & fake voters!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: Albion Wilde
You're correct. They'd have to come to FR to hear that.

Wtf you talking about? You sound like a moron. Just STFU will you?”

77 posted on 06/28/2025 7:50:59 PM PDT by null and void (Democrats: fake news, fake presidents, fake beliefs, fake policies, fake protesters & fake voters!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 64 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz
I’m taking an AI course @ M.I.T.

AI, based on neural node networks, is, in my opinion, the greatest technological advancement of the past 10 years. Yes, it hallucinates, can't tell truth from a lie, and goes off the rails sometimes, but I'm amazed at what it can do and how fast it can do it.
78 posted on 06/28/2025 7:51:54 PM PDT by Right_Wing_Madman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Lazamataz

It feeds on people’s delusions. Those that are mentally unbalanced slide into it a lot faster.


79 posted on 06/28/2025 7:57:09 PM PDT by vpintheak (Screw the ChiComms! America first!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: null and void

LOL!


80 posted on 06/28/2025 8:20:42 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (Think about it: The Supreme Court is nine lawyers appointed for life by politicians. —David Horowitz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 121-125 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson