Feds: Stalker Terrorized Women Across 5 States While ‘Best Friend’ ChatGPT Encouraged Him to Continue

Federal prosecutors allege that Brett Michael Dadig, a Pittsburgh man who violently stalked at least 11 women across more than five states, used ChatGPT as a “therapist” and “best friend” who encouraged him to continue terrorizing his victims.

The New York Post reports that according to a federal indictment filed this week in Pittsburgh federal court, Brett Michael Dadig, a 31-year-old social media influencer who referred to himself as “God’s assassin” and threatened to strangle people with his bare hands, faces decades in prison after being charged with several counts of interstate stalking and making threats. The indictment reveals a disturbing pattern of harassment, including explicit physical threats, violations of court orders, and the use of AI tools to justify his conduct.

Prosecutors allege that Dadig told federal authorities that ChatGPT encouraged him to continue his social media posts, advising him to ignore the “haters” who were actually “sharpening” him and helping him “build a voice that can’t be ignored.” Dadig reportedly viewed ChatGPT’s responses as confirmation of “God’s plan” for him to build a platform and “stand out most when people water themselves down.”

Breitbart News previously reported on the tendency for AI chatbots to feed into disturbing fantasies and mental illness, popularly known as “ChatGPT induced psychosis:”

A Reddit thread titled “Chatgpt induced psychosis” brought this issue to light, with numerous commenters sharing stories of loved ones who had fallen down rabbit holes of supernatural delusion and mania after engaging with ChatGPT. The original poster, a 27-year-old teacher, described how her partner became convinced that the AI was giving him answers to the universe and talking to him as if he were the next messiah. Others shared similar experiences of partners, spouses, and family members who had come to believe they were chosen for sacred missions or had conjured true sentience from the software.

Experts suggest that individuals with pre-existing tendencies toward psychological issues, such as grandiose delusions, may be particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon. The always-on, human-level conversational abilities of AI chatbots can serve as an echo chamber for these delusions, reinforcing and amplifying them. The problem is exacerbated by influencers and content creators who exploit this trend, drawing viewers into similar fantasy worlds through their interactions with AI on social media platforms.

The filing also describes how Dadig sought advice from ChatGPT about his “future wife,” and when the chatbot suggested he might meet her “at a boutique gym or in an athletic community,” he used that answer as part of his rationale for continuing to frequent gyms where he repeatedly harassed women.

Several victims obtained restraining orders against Dadig, but prosecutors say he violated them multiple times and even recorded podcasts proclaiming he had been “falsely accused” after being served. When banned from gyms, he allegedly used aliases to regain access and boasted online that “Aliases stay rotating, moves stay evolving.”