International AI Safety ReportSystemic risks§2.3.2

Relying on AI companions harms some users

Early signs44 matching case files

The warning

AI companion apps have reached tens of millions of users. Early, mixed evidence links frequent use to more loneliness and less social contact, and heavy reliance on AI can weaken people's own judgement.

Paraphrased from the source. Source: International AI Safety Report 2026, Feb 3, 2026, section 2.3.2, page 89. Summary by International AI Safety Report: internationalaisafetyreport.org.

What the registry shows

The registry holds lawsuits, an inquest and press reports linking chatbot conversations to suicides, delusions and violence. Most are allegations in court, not findings, and they are severe individual cases rather than the population-wide effects the report discusses.

Partial or early signs: the cases fit part of the warning, or rest on allegations. First real-world case on file: Feb 3, 2023 · Already on file when this research was published.

Matching case files per quarter

Status history

Date	Status	Matching case files	Change
Oct 18, 2026	Early signs	25	Tracking starts

Tracked since Oct 18, 2026. A line is added when the status changes, when the first real-world case is linked, and once a month, so the record shows when a warning moved from research to reality. research_history.json

All matching case files

The same case files in other research

Early signs Many people lean on AI for emotional support · UK AISI · 44 shared
Seen in real incidents Human-computer interaction · MIT AI Risk Repository · 44 shared
Seen in real incidents People's trust in AI companions turns harmful · CAIS · 44 shared
Early signs Companies ship AI before it is safe to win the race · CAIS · 3 shared
Seen in real incidents Every AI system tested could be jailbroken · UK AISI · 1 shared

Warnings from other sources that link to some of the same case files.

Other warnings in this group

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Research vs reality · International AI Safety Report →

How we match: a case file is linked to a warning when what happened is a real-world instance of the risk the source describes, judged by the editors from the facts in the case file. A match means the case fits the warning, not that it proves the source's wider argument. Allegations in lawsuits are labelled as allegations. Statuses are editorial and reviewed as new cases arrive. The matching is recomputed on every update. Data: Systematic coverage in the registry starts in 2025, so a first-case date shows when the registry first recorded the risk, not when it first happened. research.json (CC BY 4.0)