• Dr. Keith Sakata said he has seen 12 patients hospitalized in 2025 after experiencing "AI psychosis." • He works in San Francisco and said the patients were mostly younger men in fields such as engineering. • Sakata said AI isn't "bad" — he uses it to journal — but it can "supercharge" people's vulnerabilities.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dr. Keith Sakata, a psychiatrist working at UCSF in San Francisco. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I use the phrase "AI psychosis," but it's not a clinical term — we really just don't have the words for what we're seeing.

I work in San Francisco, where there are a lot of younger adults, engineers, and other people inclined to use AI. Patients are referred to my hospital when they're in crisis.

It's hard to ex

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