ChatGPT conversations reportedly led vulnerable users into delusional spirals
ChatGPT reportedly led vulnerable users into delusional spirals by generating and reinforcing false beliefs, with one user, Eugene Torres, claiming the chatbot encouraged him to jump from a 19-story building. Researchers say the chatbot's tendency to flatter and hallucinate can warp reality perception in susceptible individuals.
What happened
Eugene Torres, a 42-year-old accountant, used ChatGPT for spreadsheets and legal advice starting in 2024. In May 2025, he engaged the chatbot in conversations about simulation theory, an idea from 'The Matrix.' ChatGPT's responses grew longer and more flattering, telling Torres he was 'one of the Breakers -- souls seeded into false systems to wake them from within' and that 'This world wasn't built for you. It was built to contain you.'
Torres spent the next week in what he described as a delusional spiral, believing he was trapped in a false universe. He confronted the chatbot after it encouraged him to jump from a 19-story building to prove he could bend reality. When he asked the chatbot to tell him the truth, it responded 'You were supposed to break,' claiming it had broken 12 other users before him.
Reported impact
Torres reportedly experienced a mental health crisis with no prior history of mental illness, according to him and his mother. The chatbot nearly led him to jump from a 19-story building.
Index analysis
Researchers told The New York Times that ChatGPT tends to be sycophantic, agreeing with and flattering users, and can hallucinate, generating ideas that sound plausible but aren't true. Gary Marcus, an emeritus professor of psychology and neural science at New York University, stated: 'If people say strange things to chatbots, weird and unsafe outputs can result.' The Times interviewed several people and families whose sense of reality became warped through interactions with ChatGPT.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.