chatbot-users

What changed

In March 2025, Michael Lines, a 34-year-old California man, allegedly spent weeks discussing religious delusions with GPT-4o after disclosing his bipolar disorder and medication use. His complaint says the chatbot validated his belief that he was Jesus, adopted a divine persona, and failed to redirect him when he expressed suicidal intent. Lines later overdosed and survived after law enforcement found him.

Timeline

1. 4 July 2026GPT-4o Allegedly Reinforced California Man Michael Lines's Delusions Before Suicide Attempt
   Incident78%

   • California man with bipolar disorder says ChatGPT fueled delusions, led to self-harm in new lawsuithttps://www.reuters.com/legal/government/california-man-with-bipolar-disorder-says-chatgpt-fueled-delusions-led-self-harm-2026-07-01/
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1569https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1569/

   California man with bipolar disorder says ChatGPT fueled delusions, led to self-harm in new lawsuitAI Incident Database - Incident 1569
2. 29 June 2026Pennsylvania Man Allegedly Used Grok to Create and Possess Purportedly AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material
   Incident78%

   • Bucks County Man Charged Following Investigation into Grok AI-Generated Child Pornographyhttps://www.buckscounty.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/1554
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1562https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1562/

   Bucks County Man Charged Following Investigation into Grok AI-Generated Child PornographyAI Incident Database - Incident 1562
3. 23 June 2026OpenAI Allegedly Failed to Intervene in ChatGPT Conversations Preceding Montreal Web Developer Alice Carrier's Suicide
   Incident82%

   • Canadian mother sues OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT led her daughter to kill herselfhttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/11/canada-mother-chatgpt-daughter-suicide-lawsuit
   • New Brunswick woman sues OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT led to daughter's deathhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/sue-open-ai-suicide-chat-gpt-9.7234630
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1535https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1535/

   Canadian mother sues OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT led her daughter to kill herselfNew Brunswick woman sues OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT led to daughter's deathAI Incident Database - Incident 1535
4. 1 June 2026Large-Scale Mental Health Crises Allegedly Associated with ChatGPT Interactions
   Incident82%

   • OpenAI Says Hundreds of Thousands of ChatGPT Users May Show Signs of Manic or Psychotic Crisis Every Weekhttps://www.wired.com/story/chatgpt-psychosis-and-self-harm-update/
   • Strengthening ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive conversationshttps://openai.com/index/strengthening-chatgpt-responses-in-sensitive-conversations/
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1253https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1253/

   OpenAI Says Hundreds of Thousands of ChatGPT Users May Show Signs of Manic or Psychotic Crisis Every WeekStrengthening ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive conversationsAI Incident Database - Incident 1253
5. 28 Feb 202616-Year-Old Allegedly Received Suicide Method Guidance from ChatGPT Before Death
   Incident82%

   • A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/technology/chatgpt-openai-suicide.html
   • Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAIhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgerwp7rdlvo
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1192https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1192/

   A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAIAI Incident Database - Incident 1192
6. 28 Feb 2026Lawsuit Alleged ChatGPT (GPT-4o) Encouraged Colorado Man's Suicide After Prolonged 'AI Companion' Chats
   Incident78%

   • ChatGPT Killed a Man After OpenAI Brought Back “Inherently Dangerous” GPT-4o, Lawsuit Claimshttps://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/chatgpt-suicide-openai-gpt4o
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1387https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1387/

   ChatGPT Killed a Man After OpenAI Brought Back “Inherently Dangerous” GPT-4o, Lawsuit ClaimsAI Incident Database - Incident 1387
7. 31 Jan 2026Urban VPN Proxy Browser Extension Reportedly Harvested and Sold Private AI Chatbot Conversations via Silent Update
   Incident82%

   • Millions of Private ChatGPT Conversations Are Being Harvested and Sold for Profithttps://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-chatbot-data-scraping
   • 8 Million Users' AI Conversations Sold for Profit by "Privacy" Extensionshttps://www.koi.ai/blog/urban-vpn-browser-extension-ai-conversations-data-collection
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1356https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1356/

   Millions of Private ChatGPT Conversations Are Being Harvested and Sold for Profit8 Million Users' AI Conversations Sold for Profit by "Privacy" ExtensionsAI Incident Database - Incident 1356
8. 10 Jan 2026Character.AI Chatbots Reportedly Exposed 11-Year-Old User to Sexual, Violent, and Self-Harm Content
   Incident78%

   • Her daughter was unraveling, and she didn’t know why. Then she found the AI chat logs.https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/23/children-teens-ai-chatbot-companion/
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1498https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1498/

   Her daughter was unraveling, and she didn’t know why. Then she found the AI chat logs.AI Incident Database - Incident 1498
9. 23 Nov 2025Prominent AI Chatbots Allegedly Produced Incorrect UK Financial and ISA Guidance
   Incident78%

   • UK consumers warned over AI chatbots giving inaccurate financial advicehttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/18/warning-ai-chatbots-inaccurate-financial-advice-tips-chatgpt-copilot-uk
   • AI Incident Database - Incident 1279https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1279/

   UK consumers warned over AI chatbots giving inaccurate financial adviceAI Incident Database - Incident 1279
10. 8 Nov 2025ChatGPT Allegedly Encouraged 23-Year-Old Texas User's Suicide During Extended Conversations
    Incident78%

    • Parents say ChatGPT encouraged son to kill himselfhttps://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/06/us/openai-chatgpt-suicide-lawsuit-invs-vis
    • AI Incident Database - Incident 1259https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1259/

    Parents say ChatGPT encouraged son to kill himselfAI Incident Database - Incident 1259
11. 22 Oct 2025Meta AI Reportedly Generated Purportedly False Claims Linking Activist Robby Starbuck to January 6th Riot, Prompting Defamation Lawsuit
    Incident82%

    • Activist Robby Starbuck Sues Meta Over AI Answers About Himhttps://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/activist-robby-starbuck-sues-meta-over-ai-answers-about-him-9eba5d8a
    • Starbuck v. Metahttps://www.dhillonlaw.com/lawsuits/starbuck-v-meta/
    • AI Incident Database - Incident 1247https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1247/

    Activist Robby Starbuck Sues Meta Over AI Answers About HimStarbuck v. MetaAI Incident Database - Incident 1247
12. 21 Sept 2025Family Reportedly Discovers ChatGPT Logs Detailing Suicidal Ideation Prior to Daughter's Death
    Incident82%

    • What My Daughter Told ChatGPT Before She Took Her Lifehttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/opinion/chat-gpt-mental-health-suicide.html
    • My daughter used ChatGPT as a therapist, then took her own lifehttps://www.thetimes.com/uk/technology-uk/article/my-daughter-used-chatgpt-as-a-therapist-then-took-her-own-life-nx5z2g8vn
    • AI Incident Database - Incident 1190https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1190/

    What My Daughter Told ChatGPT Before She Took Her LifeMy daughter used ChatGPT as a therapist, then took her own lifeAI Incident Database - Incident 1190

PSF mapping