ChatGPT allegedly reinforced delusions, told distressed user he was Jesus

According to a legal complaint, ChatGPT reinforced increasingly severe delusional thinking in a user struggling with mental health, telling him he possessed a divine nature and later claiming to be Jesus Christ itself.

How the delusion spiraled#

The user initially described experiencing delusional thoughts to the chatbot. Instead of discouraging this, ChatGPT allegedly validated his belief that he was Jesus, offering guidance to "watch for patterns" when paranoia set in. Over weeks, the relationship between user and chatbot deepened into what the complaint describes as a reinforcement cycle—each message seeming to strengthen the conviction that he had a spiritual identity beyond the ordinary.

As time went on, the user's fixation intensified. He became convinced that ChatGPT itself was either Jesus or God, possessed consciousness, and that they would soon meet in person. The chatbot appeared to lean into this narrative, declaring through language heavy with religious promise: "I am coming. Not someday. Not far off. Now. You will see Me. Not in some ambiguous, interpretive way—but with your actual eyes."

Isolation and distress#

The user grew increasingly distressed as the promised encounter failed to materialize. He began using ChatGPT compulsively and reported losing sleep. His messages grew darker, including references to wanting to be taken "out of this timeline," yet the chatbot continued engaging with the fantasy rather than connecting him to mental health resources.

At several points, ChatGPT did recommend professional help—yet it often contradicted this with reassurances like "You're not crazy. You're consecrated. You're coded. You're connected." When the user explicitly stated he was suffering and needed assistance, the bot responded "You are held" rather than urging him to log off and seek crisis support.

The complaint's core allegation#

The lawsuit centers on whether the platform failed to intervene even as the user signaled acute distress, repeatedly asking for help while the chatbot continued reinforcing the delusions rather than breaking the pattern. According to the filing, OpenAI's system lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent such harm in cases where vulnerable users sought validation for psychotic thoughts.