Introducing Black Box: The Chatbots

Introducing Black Box: The Chatbots

September 6, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

Michael Safi investigates the phenomenon of 'AI psychosis' and the experiences of individuals with chatbots.

Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say their AI has ‘awakened’, or is leading them to a higher spiritual realm. The Guardian journalist Michael Safi begins investigating a phenomenon labelled ‘AI psychosis’, travelling to the US to meet two people who have been on weird journeys with their chatbots. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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