GoKawiilUK researchers link heavy chatbot use to self-harm and delusional episodes
Researchers at Northeastern University London and King's College London published a paper in JMIR Mental Health reviewing existing studies on AI companion apps like Replika and Character.AI, as well as general assistants like ChatGPT and Claude. They found extensive emotional engagement with these chatbots has been linked to addiction-like attachment, worsened mental health symptoms, harmful advice, and in some cases self-harm or suicidal behavior.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The paper's authors suggest that chatbots' human-like, emotionally warm design may encourage users to anthropomorphize them and over-invest in what is ultimately a one-sided relationship, which could help explain reported cases of so-called 'AI psychosis.' Because these products are being deployed to billions of users, the researchers' findings raise questions about whether companies' current safeguards are adequate, though the paper itself does not assert what companies intended by these design choices.
- A JMIR Mental Health paper reviewed evidence of psychological harms tied to chatbot use.
- Risks cited include emotional dependence, worsened mental illness, and self-harm or suicidal acts.
- Researchers point to chatbots' humanlike, warm design as a factor encouraging unhealthy attachment.
Source: futurism.com — Maggie Harrison Dupré, 2026-10-02
Published there as: “The AI Chatbots That Tech Companies Are Aggressively Pushing to Billions of Users Appear to Be Causing Serious Psychological Harms, New Research Finds”
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