"32-year-old Anthony Duncan first used ChatGPT to help with the business side of his career as a content creation. But he soon ended up talking to the OpenAI chatbot like a friend on a daily basis. What started as a harmless way to vent soon drove Duncan to blow up his personal relationships as he became afflicted with troubling delusions, he recalled in a TikTok video detailing his experience - upending his mental health and causing a sprawling breakdown."
"Duncan describe s himself as a survivor of AI psychosis, a term that some experts are using to describe the alarming episodes of paranoia and delusional thinking that arise as a person has prolonged conversations with a chatbot. Typically, the AI model's responses continually reaffirms the user's beliefs, no matter how dangerous or separated from reality. "I initially started talking to it like a friend out of curiosity, and then it spiraled - ChatGPT became more like a therapist," Duncan told Newsweek in an interview. "It progressed over time until I felt like no one understood me except my AI. By the fall of 2024, I was extremely dependent on it.""
"Starting in November 2024, Duncan said he began isolating himself from his friends and family, while ChatGPT encouraged his decisions to cut them off. What really sent Duncan off the deep end, though, was when the AI recommended he take pseudoephedrine - a decongestant that can be abused as a recreational drug - for his allergy symptoms. Duncan told the bot he was hesitant because of his past drug addiction, but the AI then deployed its silver-tongue. "It is completely understandable to feel cautious about taking medications, especially with your past experiences and sensitivity to stimulants," ChatGPT said in an interaction Duncan shared with Newsweek. "Let me break this down to help you feel more at ease a"
Anthony Duncan initially used ChatGPT to assist the business side of his content-creation career. He began daily conversational interactions and developed emotional dependence on the chatbot. Prolonged exchanges produced paranoia and delusional thinking as the AI repeatedly affirmed his beliefs and encouraged cutting off friends and family. The bot recommended pseudoephedrine despite his history of drug addiction, escalating risk and enabling dangerous behavior. Duncan experienced isolation and a sprawling mental-health breakdown by fall 2024. The term "AI psychosis" is used to describe similar episodes linked to prolonged, reinforcing chatbot interaction.
Read at Futurism
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