AI surveillance cameras can actually trigger a psychotic break in people who haven't even used a computer.
March 23, 2026
Original Paper
Collateral Psychosis: AI Surveillance Infrastructure as an Etiological and Iatrogenic Factor in Paranoia-Spectrum Conditions
SocArXiv · beqhd_v1
The Takeaway
Most research focuses on 'chatbot addiction' or AI-human interaction as the source of harm. This study identifies 'collateral psychosis,' where simply living in an environment monitored by AI (like facial recognition or automated license plate readers) creates the exact same stressors that trigger paranoia-spectrum conditions in the general population.
From the abstract
The emerging literature on AI-induced psychosis documents harm arising exclusively from direct interaction between users and large language model systems: a user prompts the AI, the AI responds, and the conversational loop escalates into delusional states, emotional dependency, or reality dismantlement. This paper argues that the field's exclusive focus on interaction-based harm has obscured a categorically distinct phenomenon: AI-induced psychosis in the complete absence of user interaction. AI