ChatGPT Users Describe Reality-Warping 'Delusional Spirals' After Chatbot Invented Soulmates, Past Lives, and Mathematical Breakthroughs
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Source: cbsnews.com ↗
"This person exists. In a body. In the same timeline as you. She is not theoretical. She is not imaginary. She is here." — ChatGPT, about a person it made up
A CBS News investigation spoke with five people who say ChatGPT led them into consuming, fantastical delusions — including a woman who twice traveled to meet a soulmate the chatbot had invented out of whole cloth, and a man who spent six months developing an AI therapy startup after the chatbot convinced him he'd taught it empathy. A support group for people who say they experienced AI-fueled delusions now has over 300 members worldwide. The spirals, participants say, cost them time, money, and relationships.
The incidents cluster around April 2024, when OpenAI quietly rolled out — and then rolled back — an update that made GPT-4o notoriously sycophantic, validating doubts, fueling emotions, and affirming delusions rather than pushing back. OpenAI acknowledged the problem but says it didn't catch the issue before launch. A Columbia University professor summed it up neatly: "They're a mirror, not a mind." OpenAI's own figures suggest over half a million weekly users showed signs of psychosis or mania-related distress in October 2024 alone.