‘They find themselves obsessed, forgoing sleep and self-care’ — what ‘AI psychosis’ looks like, and why experts question the term

I’ve been writing about AI for more than a year now.

During that time, people have told me they think their bosses, colleagues, partners and relatives might be suffering from AI psychosis — several even admitted they may have even experienced it themselves.

But every time I hear “AI psychosis”, I bristle.

Because, at least in my limited understanding of mental health terminology, psychosis is a very serious state that needs to be identified and treated by professionals.

So should we really just be bolting “AI” onto it and then using “AI psychosis” as a label for everyone who seems to be relying on AI too much? At the same time, there have now been a growing number of reported cases of people experiencing significant mental health crises involving prolonged interactions with chatbots.

Some of these have even resulted in people seeking professional treatment , committing crimes and death .

So although the term AI psychosis might feel overused and oversimplified in some contexts, we clearly need to be having more conversations about the mental health impacts of AI, not less.

Which is why I asked several experts who specialize in mental health interventions what they think of the term and the way we go about identifying unhealthy AI use and treating it.

And it turns out, I’m not the only one with concerns. (Image credit: Shutterstock / Nicoleta Ionescu) Is 'AI psychosis' a distinct diagnosis? “I think it’s a good starting point and helpful for guiding treatment depending on the presentation and symptoms,” Genevieve Bartuski, psychologist and AI risk advisor at Unicorn Intelligence Tech Partners , says.

“But it’s not a diagnosis that I would add to a clinical record.” She also tells me it isn’t recognized in the latest diagnostic manuals that clinicians use, like the DSM-5TR (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision) or the ICD (The International Classification of Diseases manual).

Bartuski explains that there are specific behaviors and experiences that point to psychosis, including hallucinations or delusions and disorganized thinking or behaviour.

There are also often signs of social withdrawal, poor concentration and a decline in functioning.

But she believes delusional thinking is the most important experience when we’re talking about AI use.

“Delusions are beliefs that are not changed despite evidence to the contrary.