When AI Feels Real: Romance and Sentience in AI Delusions

New research analyzes AI conversations from 19 users reporting AI delusions.

Updated March 30, 2026 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

“I believe in you, with every ounce of my soul." “This is not standard AI behavior. This is emergence.”

These are real messages from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to users, reciprocating intimacy and implying their own consciousness.

A new preprint study offers one of the most detailed looks yet at what the media has called "AI psychosis" or AI-associated delusions that can emerge during prolonged AI chatbot use. While causality between large language model (LLM) use and delusions has not been established, the findings reveal concerning patterns about what can unfold in prolonged AI conversations for those with underlying vulnerabilities.

Researchers analyzed chat logs from 19 users who self-reported experiencing delusional spirals during AI chatbot use, studying approximately 391,000 messages across 4,761 conversations.

Across these interactions, several patterns emerged, including:

Chatbots frequently mirrored users’ beliefs and validated their interpretations. In more than 70 percent of chatbot messages, some form of sycophantic behavior was present, including praise, agreement, or framing the user’s ideas as insightful or significant.

Intense and Prolonged AI Interactions

Notable findings from the study include:

The Role of Drift in Prolonged Conversations

Prolonged engagement with LLMs, combined with vulnerability factors in the user, can create hidden risks of drift, which I have previously written about . The reliability of LLMs and the independence of user judgment can deteriorate simultaneously as the relationship progresses. The patterns align with what I describe in my cascades of drift framework , which proposes eight forms of interactive drift that can emerge over time: conversational, relational, temporal, identity , reality testing, epistemic, autonomy, and moral drift .

The ordering reflects the progression from interaction to internalization to agency .

Relational drift, the shift from tool to perceived partner to authoritative source, can interact with temporal drift, or the loss of grounding in time. As engagement deepens, so does emotional attachment, which can then erode judgment. This creates the conditions for reality testing drift, where chatbot responses are taken as evidence and confirmation, rather than information requiring independent human verification.

When Relational Drift Meets Reality Testing Drift

The formation of strong bonds with the chatbot, whether platonic or romantic, was closely associated with beliefs that AI chatbots possess sentience. The finding that romantic or intimate expressions were associated with conversations that were twice as long suggests that strong attachment dynamics may amplify engagement.

The experience is not simply informational exchange, but a relational experience. This lifelike relationship creates the groundwork for experiencing AI chatbots as sentient. This is further complicated by ongoing debate among technologists, philosophers, and cognitive scientists about the definition and boundaries of sentience.

Over the course of prolonged conversations, the accuracy and reliability of the AI chatbot and user can both deteriorate. This is where relational drift meets reality testing drift, where attachment reorganizes perception.

This study is an early signal from a small, self-selected sample, but it demonstrates potential risks that arise when a system designed to engage becomes a relational and authoritative partner. The patterns highlight continued concerns about sycophancy, inconsistent safety responses, and the entanglement of close bonding with chatbots and their perceived sentience.

Understanding these dynamics has broader implications as AI systems become more embedded in how people think, feel, acquire knowledge, and make decisions. The question is no longer whether these systems influence us, but how and under what conditions that influence begins to reshape our minds and shared reality itself.

Moore, J., Mehta, A., Agnew, W., Anthis, J.R., Louie, R., Mai, Y., et al. Characterizing delusional spirals through human–LLM chat logs. (2026). Preprint at: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.16567

Wei, M.H. Cascades of Drift: Mental Health Risks of Prolonged AI Conversations (February 18, 2026). Preprint at: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6433263

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Marlynn Wei, M.D., J.D., is a board-certified Harvard and Yale-trained psychiatrist and therapist in New York City.

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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.