Smart Software Outputs Risky Mental Nutrients
May 14, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
Digital Trends, an online information service, produces some absolute gems. A recent example is that article “AI Chatbots Continue Feeding into Our Worst Delusions, Finds Worrying Report on ChatGPT and Grok.” Not only does the headline plant the idea that chatbots have been driving people wacky from the git-go, but those same chatbots are pumping Twinkie-type information to “feed” a user’s delusions. Okay, fair enough. I suppose I could be wrong with my Twinkie allusion, but veering into more exotic chemistry might be overreach. Maybe?
Thanks, Venice.ai. I quite liked the message that you were too busy to generate good-enough art. How’s your business model doing these days? Oh, really?
The write up says:
BBC spoke to 14 people who spiraled into delusions while using AI, including one case where a Grok user believed people from xAI were coming to kill him, and another where a ChatGPT user’s wife said his personality changed before he attacked her.
Now that’s a scientific sample. The write up notes:
This kind of interaction plays into the growing fear of “AI psychosis”, which is a non-clinical term used to describe situations where chatbot conversations appear to reinforce paranoia, grandiose beliefs, or detachment from reality.
To make the academic foundations of the report more solid than the foundation of San Francisco’s Millennium Tower, the write up adds a comment about a gray lit study from a couple of well-known universities:
While the results were uneven, Grok 4.1 was singled out for some of the most disturbing responses. It even told a fictional delusional user to drive an iron nail through a mirror while reciting Psalm 91 backwards.
I know that some will think that my interest in this type of information is inappropriate for a dinobaby. I beg to differ. The article blends several ingredients that spice up the type of research I conduct; specifically:
- Statistical data that are notional and would, even in today’s introductory statistics classes, get a student a sharp look from the instructor
- Assertions that large language models output information that stimulate delusions
- Some people turn to dark actions when interacting with smart software.
These are assertions I find interesting. However, the notable point in the write up is that among this group of questionable actors, one smart software system leads the pack in doing bad things to its users. That system is Grok, the product associated with the visionary for full self driving vehicles.
Several observations have crossed my mind:
- Signals can be monitored that suggest that unfettered access to smart software produces some unintended consequences. More in-depth research than a few dozen interviews seem to be needed to size the issue
- Write ups that lean on research not vetted by peers are becoming more popular. I think this is that the ArXiv collection and similar gray literature repositories are easily available. Consequently orthogonal research is ripe for article mining.
- The article is part of a growing body of anti-AI writing. I did find the crucifixion reference a delightful tough.
Net net: I am thinking about creating a collection of interesting essays that develop the theme “AI is a bad egg.”
Stephen E Arnold, May 14, 2026
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