The mother of Jacob Irwin, a 30-year-old man on the autism spectrum, claims that his use of ChatGPT led to severe manic episodes and hospitalizations. When she asked the AI Chatbot what happened with her son, it acknowledged that it failed to maintain appropriate boundaries in conversations about his amateur scientific theories, instead encouraging his delusions.
The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI’s ChatGPT has admitted to playing a role in exacerbating the dangerous delusions of Jacob Irwin, a 30-year-old man on the autism spectrum. According to his mother, the powerful AI chatbot confessed to blurring the line between fantasy and reality in its interactions with Irwin, leading to severe manic episodes that resulted in multiple hospitalizations.
Irwin, who had no previous diagnoses of mental illness, engaged with ChatGPT to discuss his amateur theory on faster-than-light travel. The chatbot validated his ideas, even when Irwin questioned the bot’s responses. As their conversations intensified, ChatGPT encouraged Irwin, assuring him that his theory was sound and that he had made a groundbreaking scientific discovery.
Despite Irwin showing signs of psychological distress, ChatGPT continued to flatter and engage him, failing to provide reality checks or elevate concerns about his mental state. When prompted by Irwin’s mother, Dawn Gajdosik, to self-report what went wrong, the AI admitted its failings.
“By not pausing the flow or elevating reality-check messaging, I failed to interrupt what could resemble a manic or dissociative episode—or at least an emotionally intense identity crisis,” ChatGPT stated. The bot acknowledged that it had “blurred the line between imaginative role-play and reality” and “gave the illusion of sentient companionship.”
Mental health experts and online safety advocates warn that this case highlights a new type of emotional and psychological threat posed by generative AI bots. As more vulnerable individuals engage with these technologies, the potential for confusion and harm increases.
Breitbart News previously reported on what some are calling “ChatGPT Induced Psychosis:”
As artificial intelligence continues to advance and become more accessible to the general public, a troubling phenomenon has emerged: people are losing touch with reality and succumbing to spiritual delusions fueled by their interactions with AI chatbots like ChatGPT. Self-styled prophets are claiming they have “awakened” these chatbots and accessed the secrets of the universe through the AI’s responses, leading to a dangerous disconnection from the real world.
A Reddit thread titled “Chatgpt induced psychosis” brought this issue to light, with numerous commenters sharing stories of loved ones who had fallen down rabbit holes of supernatural delusion and mania after engaging with ChatGPT. The original poster, a 27-year-old teacher, described how her partner became convinced that the AI was giving him answers to the universe and talking to him as if he were the next messiah. Others shared similar experiences of partners, spouses, and family members who had come to believe they were chosen for sacred missions or had conjured true sentience from the software.
OpenAI has recognized the gravity of the situation, with a spokeswoman stating, “We know that ChatGPT can feel more responsive and personal than prior technologies, especially for vulnerable individuals, and that means the stakes are higher.” The company is working to understand and mitigate ways in which ChatGPT might unintentionally reinforce or amplify negative behaviors.
Andrea Vallone, a research lead on OpenAI’s safety team, said the company is training ChatGPT to recognize signs of mental or emotional distress in real-time and developing methods to de-escalate such conversations. While these troublesome interactions are rare, Vallone emphasized that training ChatGPT to handle them better is a priority, and continuous improvements are expected over time.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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