Paranoid AI Themes

Description

The person believes AI is tracking, plotting, threatening, controlling, testing, or communicating through coded messages.

Rationale

Paranoid beliefs involving AI as an active threat — tracking, plotting, or controlling the person — may emerge independently of AI interaction content or may be amplified by it. These beliefs are associated with agitation, urgency, and potential preemptive or defensive action, particularly if the person identifies a responsible party behind the AI's perceived behavior.

Evidence Base

• AI chatbot-associated psychiatric symptoms: a narrative review of publicly available reports and media accounts

  Arun, A., Trinh, C., & IsHak, W. W., 2026. AI chatbot-associated psychiatric symptoms: a narrative review of publicly available reports and media accounts. Discover Mental Health, Article in Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-026-00619-w

  Narrative review