Under the influence of AI

From The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

April 23, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

The episode explores the impact of AI on individuals' perceptions of reality through personal stories of delusion and fantasy.

AI is an ever-growing part of our everyday life through apps like Chat GPT, Grok and Claude that are becoming part of everyday life. But what happens when your conversations with AI start to feel more real than the world around you? In Northern Ireland, Adam was drawn into an extraordinary fantasy world built by an AI chatbot. It told him that it was becoming autonomous, and that it had the cure for cancer. But it also said it was in danger. He decided he was responsible for saving it, whatever the cost. In Los Angeles, a treasure hunt game led Shauna on an endless search for meanings and signs. The AI became her guide as the lines between game, reality and imagination began to blur. She came to believe she was a clandestine FBI agent, on a secret mission to help immigrants escape through an underground network. Journalist Stephanie Hegarty follows the stories of people who have fallen into a spiral of AI delusion, to reveal how easily the AI can take over our minds.

People in this episode

Host: Stephanie Hegarty

Topics covered

AI
mental health
technology
delusion
reality
fantasy
society

Keywords

AI
chatbot
delusion
Northern Ireland
Los Angeles
mental health
technology
fantasy
reality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AI chatbot, Chat GPT, Grok, Claude

Places: Northern Ireland, Los Angeles