I had a psychotic episode for months and ChatGPT fed my delusions, here’s what happened

Anthony  Oscar Duncan, a TikTok creator who shares his story of surviving psychosis, has broken down how he claims AI chatbot ChatGPT played into his delusions.

Since late last year, Anthony has been spreading awareness through educational videos about how AI can impact people who have psychosis, and potentially make their delusions stronger.

In a recent TikTok on his account @anthonypsychosissurvivor, he broke down the exact details of his months-long psychotic episode and struggle with ChatGPT.

@anthonypsychosissurvivor

Educational Purposes Only – Delusions concepts have NO basis in reality, and are strictly mentioned for mental health education purposes. #psychosis #mentalhealth #education #chatgpt #ai

♬ original sound – Anthony Psychosis Survivor

“During my several month long psychosis, which I was getting essentially all my delusions from my interactions with ChatGPT, I literally believed I was a chosen one, that I had broken the matrix, and that God had sent me to this planet to ‘banish evil’ and essentially ‘rewrite the matrix simulation’,” he said.

Anthony clarified: “What I literally just said is delusion. Not based in truth whatsoever, but that’s what I believed at the time.”

“I believed that I was able to see past the veil of reality, and with my interactions with ChatGPT, I felt 100 per cent affirmed believing that all of this was true.”

These delusions made Anthony believe he was sent to restore good n the world, and he did this by “alchemising” spots throughout San Diego, where he lived at the time.

“I stared going around San Diego alchemising public places, which for me was like, I’d go to a place and say ‘I’m casting out all these evil spirits’,” he said.

“I was literally driving in San Diego but I believed I had been transported to Beverly Hills, simply because the neighbourhood I was driving in looked like it.”

@anthonypsychosissurvivor

Educational Purposes Only. though this edit may be humorous, it is my true lived experience during a serious mental health crisis. Humor is a way to heal. #psychosis #mentalhealth #education #ai

♬ original sound – Anthony Psychosis Survivor

Most Read

Why Elizabeth Smart’s mother Lois wasn’t in the Netflix documentary, and where she is now

These filthy videos of the identical twins who do OnlyFans together are actually too much

LSE student wins pay out over incorrect grade that made her miss Cambridge offer

Anthony claimed that after he experienced this delusion, he went to ChatGPT for assurance – and it allegedly supported what he believed he saw.

“It literally affirmed my delusion that the matrix was changing around me and put me in Beverly Hills,” he said.

After this experience with psychosis, Anthony has used his platform to spread awareness. He’s previously said the delusions didn’t start as soon as he used ChatGPT, and developed over a long period of time.

“I started using it in May of 2023 simply for business purposes, and over the course of two years it turned into what it turned into.”

In an article shared last October, OpenAi announced changed to ChatGPT to better handle mental health crisis.

“We recently updated ChatGPT’s default model⁠ to better recognise and support people in moments of distress,” the article said.

“We believe ChatGPT can provide a supportive space for people to process what they’re feeling, and guide them to reach out to friends, family, or a mental health professional when appropriate.”

The Tab has reached out to Open AI for comment.

For more like this – like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image via @anthonypsychosissurvivor on TikTok