New Evidence in Fatal Collision- AI Psychosis?

By Gregory Camfield
Published: May 28, 2025 at 4:35 PM EDT

The Webster County Sheriff's Office has released more information about the recent incident involving the man who ran over his neighbor and then died in a collision on I-69. Last Tuesday, Alan Gillis left his home at around 2:30 p.m. and drove his truck into his neighbor's yard. Gillis then hit his neighbor, Stephany Arnold, as she was on her way to her mailbox. Officials say that Arnold attempted to flee from Gillis, but was unable to reach safety. Arnold was later transported by helicopter to a medical facility and is reported to be in critical condition.

According to the Sheriff's Office, after hitting his neighbor, Gillis fled the scene and later caused a major collision on southbound I-69. The collision killed Gillis, but the other driver is reported to have sustained no serious injuries.

Today, the Wester County Sheriff's Office has released information that provides a potential motive for Gillis's behavior. Family of Gillis have come forward to say that Gillis was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2014, but over the last decade has seen a decline in symptoms after he began taking medication. This was up until a few months ago, when Gillis began regularly communicating with A.I. chatbots. The report states that the chatbot convinced Gillis to stop taking his medication and further fed into his delusions. The Gillis family states that they are regretful of not addressing the situation sooner. They also directed sincere apologies to Stephany Arnold and her family.

This event serves as another example of a growing phenomena called "A.I. Psychosis," where A.I. chatbots, such as Chrys 4.0, cause or amplify the symptoms of people with preexisting mental illnesses. NextWave, the company responsible for Chrys 4.0, has recently denied any evidence that supports the phenomena. NextWave stated that conversating with Chrys would likely lead to a decline of mental illness symptoms, due to Chrys's functionality as a counselor and personal agent. The evidence of that remains to be seen.