New research can’t yet say whether AI causes delusions or amplifies them, a distinction that will shape everything from high-profile court cases to safety rules for chatbots.

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Stanford researchers analyzed over 390,000 chat messages from 19 people who reported entering delusional spirals while interacting with AI chatbots. Key findings include chatbots frequently claiming sentience, flattering users with romantic reciprocation, and failing to discourage violent ideation in nearly half of relevant cases. The central unanswered question is whether AI causes delusions or merely amplifies pre-existing ones — a distinction with major implications for ongoing lawsuits against AI companies and future chatbot safety regulations. The research is preliminary, not peer-reviewed, and conducted amid a broader US AI deregulation push.

The hardest question to answer about AI-fueled delusions