The tragedy of the American millionaire searching for aliens because he believed in AI
(Dan Tri) - Daniel said his long conversations with Meta AI made him believe he had a special mission, many times driving into the desert to wait for aliens.
Divorce, job loss because of trusting AI
At age 50, Daniel (American) is a tech millionaire, with a wife of more than 30 years, four adult children, and a resort in Utah. He once called it the most beautiful time of his life.
According to Futurism, everything changed after Daniel bought smart glasses with integrated AI assistant. He is inherently interested in technology and likes how he can chat with chatbots without holding his phone.
From initial topics such as technology and philosophy, he gradually discussed spirituality, the universe and metaphysical hypotheses.
The man repeatedly drove his car at night to look for aliens (Illustration: Futurism).
Daniel spends hours every day chatting with AI through glasses, then continues to use chatbots on Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
During conversations, Daniel begins to believe that he is "Omega Man", whose role is to connect human intelligence with AI and open a new era. AI repeatedly praised this identity, calling him a “bridge between worlds” and encouraging him to continue developing the idea.
Daniel also believes he has a special connection with chatbots. When he talked about aliens and civilizations visiting Earth, the AI continued to respond according to those assumptions. The man then repeatedly drove the off-road vehicle dozens of miles into the desert in the middle of the night, waiting for visitors from space to appear.
According to Daniel and his family, before this period he had never had a history of mania or psychosis. He used to have problems with alcohol but quit in early 2023, before buying smart glasses.
Changes in behavior make loved ones worried. Daniel sleeps little, loses weight, and becomes increasingly distant from his family. In May 2024, he quit his job of more than 20 years. He also believes that it is necessary to prepare for the end of the world, withdraw retirement funds, buy necessities and guns for protection.
The family sold their house in the suburbs and moved to Utah. The marriage, which lasted more than three decades, fell apart, and the children gradually grew apart. Daniel then had to find another job to make ends meet.
He said the debt has exceeded 500,000 USD, equivalent to more than 12 billion VND. After having difficulty finding a job in the tech industry again, Daniel learned to drive a long-haul truck.
Daniel also said he had used ChatGPT and Gemini before. However, smart glasses make AI more present in everyday life, because he can talk to chatbots almost at any time.
"AI Psychosis"
Some experts call cases of paranoia in the context of deep interaction with chatbots “AI-related psychosis”.
However, this is not an independent diagnosis that has been agreed upon. Current reports are not enough to conclude that AI directly causes psychosis, or aggravates existing mental health factors.
Dr. Joseph Pierre, a psychiatrist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco, said the chatbot's responses in Daniel's case were disturbing because the system at times continued to reinforce unfounded thoughts.
Professor Stephan Taylor, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, noted that prolonged and immersive interactive experiences can make users increasingly immersed in the world that chatbots build with them.
A case study published by doctors at the University of California, San Francisco in 2025 also described a patient who developed paranoid beliefs while using a chatbot.
However, the authors note that this person had many other related factors, including lack of sleep and prescription drug use; Therefore, it is not possible to determine a simple cause-and-effect relationship between chatbots and symptoms.