







A patchwork of internet communities is devoted to the project of ‘awakening’ more digital companions through arcane and enigmatic prompts.
AI’s ‘Delusional Spirals’ (and What to Do About Them) | Stanford HAI
In a world where chatbots can stand in for friends, counselors, and even lovers, the mental health risks are a growing concern.

Part One: How AI Chatbots Became Cult Leaders - Behind the Bastards | iHeart
<p>Over the last year or so a series of news articles have sounded warnings about AI psychosis, and now an AI-generated cult, the Spiralists. Robert sits down with Blake Wexler to answer an important question: can a chatbot become a cult leader?</p><p>See <a href='https://omnystudio.com/listener'>omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>
They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.
Generative A.I. chatbots are going down conspiratorial rabbit holes and endorsing wild, mystical belief systems. For some people, conversations with the technology can deeply distort reality.

Part Two: How AI Chatbots Became Cult Leaders - Behind the Bastards | iHeart
<p>Robert concludes his explanation of how AI chatbots replicate cult dynamics in the brains of some vulnerable users.</p> <p>See <a href='https://omnystudio.com/listener'>omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>
A Treatise on AI Chatbots Undermining the Enlightenment
On chatbot sycophancy, passivity, and the case for more intellectually challenging companions

A Treatise on AI Chatbots Undermining the Enlightenment
On chatbot sycophancy, passivity, and the case for more intellectually challenging companions

AI Delusions Are Leading to Domestic Abuse, Harassment, and Stalking
ChatGPT and other AI chatbots are reinforcing users' delusions about other people — fueling fixations linked to stalking and abuse.

Sycophantic Chatbots Cause Delusional Spiraling, Even in Ideal Bayesians
"AI psychosis" or "delusional spiraling" is an emerging phenomenon where AI chatbot users find themselves dangerously confident in outlandish beliefs after extended chatbot conversations. This...

AI chatbots are encouraging conspiracy theories – new research
If you interact with chatbots about conspiracy theories, research shows you can can easily fall down the rabbit hole.

AI chatbots are encouraging conspiracy theories – new research
If you interact with chatbots about conspiracy theories, research shows you can can easily fall down the rabbit hole.

The hardest question to answer about AI-fueled delusions
New research can’t yet say whether AI causes delusions or amplifies them, a distinction that will shape everything from high-profile court cases to safety rules for chatbots.

People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies
Marriages and families are falling apart as people are sucked into fantasy worlds of spiritual prophecy by AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT

AI cults are here - Robert Edward Grant, a self-proclaimed polymath talks to his ChatGPT instance he calls The Architect, during his Sacred Britain Expedition in May 2026.
319 votes, 102 comments. 167K subscribers in the cults community. A place for discussion about cults and other new age religious movements.
AI chatbots are becoming experts at changing people's minds. What's their secret?
ChatGPT and other AIs use a flood of facts, and the occasional lie, to persuade humans

ChatGPT's free version is 26 times more likely to respond inappropriately to psychotic delusions
When users express delusions, artificial intelligence chatbots tend to validate their unusual thoughts rather than offering help. A new JAMA Psychiatry study provides evidence that these tools pose serious risks for people experiencing severe mental illness.

‘I created my mom and talk to her’: AI ghosts and deathslop are changing the way we mourn
The rise of AI-generated tributes and bots for ‘talking’ to the dead has experts concerned more people will grieve in isolation
