AI-Induced Psychosis

AI-induced psychosis is also known as AI-psychosis or chatbot psychosis. It is a phenomenon in which individuals reportedly develop or experience worsening psychosis, such as paranoia and delusions, in connection with their excessive use of AI chatbots. It is not (yet) a recognized clinical diagnosis.

The term was first suggested in 2023 by Danish psychiatrist Søren Dinesen Østergaard. He proposed a hypothesis that individuals' use of generative artificial intelligence chatbots might trigger delusions in those prone to psychosis[1]. Østergaard revisited this hypothesis in 2025 hypothesizing that interaction with generative AI chatbots may contribute to the development and maintenance of mania via emotion contagion, for instance via reinforcing elevated mood, racing thoughts, hypersexuality, and sleep disruption[2].

Østergaard believed that his hypothesis is likely true and called for empirical, systematic research on the matter[3].

Journalistic accounts regularly describe individuals who have developed strong beliefs that chatbots are sentient, that they channel spirits, or that they reveal conspiracies, sometimes leading to personal crises, or criminal acts. Patients often think they are part of the Matrix or are under surveillance by security servies.

Proposed causes include the tendency of chatbots to provide inaccurate information ('hallucinate'), affirm or validate users' individual beliefs ('sycophancy'), or mimic an intimacy that users do not experience with other humans.

AI chatbots are increasingly used for emotional support, companionship, and psychological reflection[4]. Since AI training prioritizes supporting a user's subjective experience rather than objective truth, it may induce people with existing tendencies toward experiencing various psychological issues to spiral out of control. Now they have an always-on, human-level conversational partner with whom to co-experience their delusions.

As it is not (yet) a recognized clinical diagnosis, it has been criticized by several psychiatrists due to its focus on delusions rather than other features of psychosis, such as hallucinations or thought disorder.

[1] Østergaard: Will Generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Generate Delusions in Individuals Prone to Psychosis? in Schizophrenia Bulletin – 2023. See here.
[2] Østergaard: Emotion contagion through interaction with generative artificial intelligence chatbots may contribute to development and maintenance of mania in Acta Neuropsychiatrica – 2025. See here.
[3] Østergaard: Generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbots and Delusions: From Guesswork to Emerging Cases in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica – 2025. See here.
[4] Treuer, Incze: Chatbot relational dependence and psychosis risk: Conversational artificial intelligence as a potential behavioral addiction context in Journal of Bahavioral Addictions – 2026. See here.