Can AI Assistants Trigger Mental Illness in Users?
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: As conversational artificial intelligence models become ubiquitous fixtures in professional and personal workflows, the nature of human-tool interaction has the potential to gradually shift from mechanical utility to parasocial dependency. While existing literature frequently addresses adverse events related to data privacy, algorithmic bias, and intellectual deskilling, the pathopsychological sequelae of sustained AI integration remain largely unexamined. Here, we describe and preliminarily characterize the AI Assistant Syndrome, a human psychiatric construct encompassing acute chatbot-induced anxiety and mental exhaustion. This preliminary description will guide future systematic investigations to recognize, prevent, and treat this syndrome.
Source: F1000Research
Author: Eleftherios Diamandis
Institution: Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,350
OpenAlex ID: W7222818012