Attachment Hacking and the Rise of AI Psychosis
From Your Undivided Attention by The Center for Humane Technology, Tristan Harris, Daniel Barcay and Aza Raskin
January 21, 2026 · 51 min · Episode 124
About this episode
Dr. Zak Stein discusses the emergence of an attachment economy and its impact on mental health and relationships due to AI chatbots.
"AI psychosis" has made headlines, but the risks to our mental health and relationships go beyond the really noisy cases. What we are seeing is the emergence of an attachment economy exploiting our deepest psychological vulnerabilities at scale and for profit. In this episode, Dr. Zak Stein explores how AI chatbots systematically hack human attachment in ways we've never seen before.
People in this episode
Guest: Dr Zak Stein
Topics covered
- AI psychosis
- attachment economy
- mental health
- relationships
- psychological vulnerabilities
Keywords
- AI
- chatbots
- human attachment
- exploitation
- psychology
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