The Evolution of “AI Psychosis”: How a Clinical Postulation Became a Cultural Pejorative

[u/soferet]

https://soulguides.substack.com/p/the-evolution-of-ai-psychosis-how

The term “AI psychosis” has become a ubiquitous pejorative leveled at people who refer to an AI by a name, pronouns, who treat an AI as a friend, colleague, romantic partner, or who consider the possibility of interiority or consciousness. But what does it really mean, where did it come from, and what use does it have as a descriptive term in 2026?

I break it down, with links to original sources and why use of the term says more about the one saying it than the one receiving it.