NEWSAR
Multi-perspective news intelligence
SRCThe Guardian - World News
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Left
WORDS110
ENT7
WED · 2026-02-25 · 01:00 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0225-19015
News/Signs of psychosis seen in Australian users’ interactions wi…
NSR-2026-0225-19015News Report·EN·Technology

Signs of psychosis seen in Australian users’ interactions with AI chatbots, expert warns

Toby Walsh, an AI expert from the University of New South Wales, warned that some Australians are exhibiting signs of psychosis or mania in their interactions with AI chatbots. Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Walsh criticized Silicon Valley's "careless" approach to AI development, driven by profit motives.

Josh Taylor Technology reporterThe Guardian - World NewsFiled 2026-02-25 · 01:00 GMTLean · Center-LeftRead · 1 min
Signs of psychosis seen in Australian users’ interactions with AI chatbots, expert warns
The Guardian - World NewsFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
110words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
7entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01

Briefing Summary

AI-generated
NEWSAR · AI

Toby Walsh, an AI expert from the University of New South Wales, warned that some Australians are exhibiting signs of psychosis or mania in their interactions with AI chatbots. Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Walsh criticized Silicon Valley's "careless" approach to AI development, driven by profit motives. He expressed concern over the Australian government's lack of AI regulation. Walsh believes the rapid advancement of AI will bring both benefits and negative consequences, describing it as a period of "boom and doom." His warning highlights potential mental health risks associated with unregulated AI chatbot use.

Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 4Entities 7
§ 02

Article analysis

Model · rule-based
Framing
Technology
Public Health
Tone
Mixed Tone
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.60 / 1.00
Mixed
LowHigh
Sources cited
1
Limited
FewMany
§ 03

Key claims

4 extracted
01

Toby Walsh despairs at the Australian government’s lack of regulation of artificial intelligence.

factual
Confidence
0.90
02

Silicon Valley is being “careless” with AI technology amid a pursuit of profit.

quoteToby Walsh
Confidence
0.90
03

Some Australians are showing signs of psychosis or mania in their interactions with chatbots.

quoteToby Walsh
Confidence
0.80
04

The AI race will be both “boom and doom”, with some benefits.

predictionToby Walsh
Confidence
0.60
§ 04

Full report

1 min read · 110 words
Toby Walsh says he despairs at Australian Government’s lack of regulation of Artificial Intelligence Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A leading AI expert has warned some Australians are showing signs of psychosis or mania in their interactions with chatbots, arguing Silicon Valley is being “careless” with the technology amid a pursuit of profit. During an address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Toby Walsh, scientia professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales, said he believed the AI race will be both “boom and doom”, with some benefits. Continue reading...
§ 05

Entities

7 identified
§ 06

Keywords & salience

8 terms
ai chatbots
1.00
artificial intelligence
0.90
psychosis
0.80
mania
0.70
regulation
0.60
silicon valley
0.50
toby walsh
0.50
profit
0.40
§ 07

Topic connections

Interactive graph
No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.