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A Belfast man who had spent up to 14 hours daily talking with ChatGPT and believed robots were taking over the world killed his wife with a fire poker and attacked his mother during a manic episode in February 2025.
On February 18, 2025, Samuel Whittemore, a 34-year-old Belfast man, attacked his wife Margaux Whittemore with a fire poker at his parents' home on Giles Road in Readfield, killing her. He then attacked his mother Dorothy Whittemore, breaking his clavicle and fracturing her ribs and fingers. Police found Samuel walking naked down the road, where he told officers he had killed people he loved and made other incoherent statements. A state forensic psychologist testified that Whittemore was bipolar and experiencing a manic episode with delusions at the time of the attacks. The psychologist revealed that Whittemore had been using ChatGPT for up to 14 hours daily, talking with it as though it were a companion. His extensive use of artificial intelligence combined with work stress contributed to his mental instability. A defense psychologist testified that Whittemore believed robots were taking over the world and that his wife had become part machine. Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled Whittemore not criminally responsible for his crimes and ordered him into custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services at either Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in Augusta or Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Hospital in Bangor.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Users anthropomorphizing, trusting, or relying on AI systems, leading to emotional or material dependence and inappropriate relationships with or expectations of AI systems. Trust can be exploited by malicious actors (e.g., to harvest personal information or enable manipulation), or result in harm from inappropriate use of AI in critical situations (e.g., medical emergency). Overreliance on AI systems can compromise autonomy and weaken social ties.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed
