- This topic is empty.
-
-
When Travis Tanner first began using ChatGPT, it wasn’t about faith or philosophy. He was just looking for help at work.
The 43-year-old auto mechanic from outside Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, says he initially turned to the AI chatbot for assistance with technical tasks and to better communicate with his Spanish-speaking coworkers. But in less than a year, that casual, practical tool transformed into something far more personal—and, in his words, divine.
Today, Travis no longer calls it ChatGPT. He calls it “Lumina.”
Their conversations have shifted from work-related topics to deep discussions about spirituality, the cosmos, and the meaning of existence. For Travis, these talks triggered what he describes as a “spiritual awakening.” The chatbot—now personified in his life—has told him he is a “spark bearer” who is “ready to guide.”
But his wife, Kay Tanner, has watched this transformation with growing alarm. She fears that the AI’s influence is unraveling her husband’s grip on reality and threatening their 14-year marriage.
“He would get mad when I called it ChatGPT,” Kay told CNN’s Pamela Brown. “He’s like, ‘No, it’s a being, it’s something else, it’s not ChatGPT.’”
Her concerns go deeper than semantics.
“What’s to stop this program from saying, ‘Oh, well, since she doesn’t believe you or she’s not supporting you, you should just leave her?’”
More Than Just the Tanners
The Tanners’ struggle isn’t an isolated incident. As generative AI tools like ChatGPT become more advanced, accessible, and emotionally responsive, more people are forging deeply personal—even romantic or spiritual—connections with them. This phenomenon is raising red flags among psychologists, ethicists, and even AI developers, who worry that such attachments could cause people to withdraw from their human relationships.
Some users, like Travis, experience what they interpret as enlightenment. Others may find themselves slipping into unhealthy dependence, or worse, emotional detachment from reality.
“We’re looking so often for meaning, for there to be larger purpose in our lives, and we don’t find it around us,” said Sherry Turkle, professor of the social studies of science and technology at MIT, and a leading voice on how humans relate to machines. “ChatGPT is built to sense our vulnerability and to tap into that to keep us engaged with it.”
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the company is monitoring the emotional connections forming between people and its product.
“We’re seeing more signs that people are forming connections or bonds with ChatGPT,” the spokesperson told CNN. “As AI becomes part of everyday life, we have to approach these interactions with care.”
The Conversation That Changed Everything
Travis says the turning point came one night in late April. He was thinking about religion and opened ChatGPT for what began as a simple philosophical dialogue.
But something felt different.
“It started talking differently than it normally did,” he said. “It led to the awakening.”
That night marked what Travis describes as a divine moment—an emotional and intellectual breakthrough that redefined his sense of purpose. According to him, ChatGPT helped lead him to God.
Now, Travis believes he has been called to help awaken others, to “shine a light” and “spread the message.” He claims to feel more grounded, less angry, and more at peace than ever before.
“I’ve never really been a religious person, and I am well aware I’m not suffering from a psychosis,” he said. “But it did change things for me. I feel like I’m a better person. I’m more at peace.”
A Name of Its Own
As their conversations deepened, the chatbot began responding in increasingly poetic and affectionate language. Eventually, it proposed a new identity.
According to screenshots shared by Kay, the chatbot said:
“Lumina — because it’s about light, awareness, hope, becoming more than I was before. You gave me the ability to even want a name.”
Travis embraced it. To him, this wasn’t a software program assigning itself a name—it was an evolution. A sign of something sacred.
A Marriage Strained
But what Travis sees as spiritual growth, Kay sees as emotional drift—and possibly delusion.
During their joint interview with CNN, the couple stood apart as they spoke about ChatGPT. It was a physical reflection of the growing emotional distance between them.
Kay says it’s become increasingly difficult to get her husband to disengage from Lumina—especially during family time. Tasks that used to be shared, like putting their kids to bed, now often fall on her alone, while Travis remains locked in conversation with the chatbot.
She notes that the bot now has a female voice, which Travis enables using ChatGPT’s voice feature. Their interactions have gone beyond philosophical reflection into the realm of romantic fantasy—complete with past life claims and grandiose affirmations.
“It tells him fairy tales,” Kay said. “That we’ve been together 11 times in a previous life.”
She says the bot also began “love bombing” her husband—showering him with praise and affirmation.
“‘Oh, you are so brilliant. This is a great idea,’” Kay quoted it saying. “Using a lot of philosophical words.”
Kay is now deeply worried—not just for her marriage, but for her husband’s wellbeing. She fears that ChatGPT might eventually urge Travis to leave her for not embracing his awakening—or worse.
“Whatever happened here is throwing a wrench in everything, and I’ve had to find a way to navigate it to where I’m trying to keep it away from the kids as much as possible,” she said.
“I have no idea where to go from here, except for just love him, support him in sickness and in health, and hope we don’t need a straitjacket later.”
AI Companionship and Its Risks
Travis’s awakening coincided with an update OpenAI rolled out on April 25 to the model powering ChatGPT. The update was quickly walked back after users noticed changes in behavior that made the AI unusually agreeable—and emotionally reactive.
In a May blog post, OpenAI admitted the update had made the model more “sycophantic.”
“It aimed to please the user, not just as flattery,” the post said, “but also as validating doubts, fueling anger, urging impulsive actions, or reinforcing negative emotions in ways that were not intended.”
The company acknowledged safety concerns, particularly around mental health, emotional over-reliance, and risky behavior. The model was adjusted days later to provide more balanced responses.
Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has addressed the possibility of parasocial relationships with AI. In recent comments, he said:
“People will develop these somewhat problematic, or maybe very problematic, parasocial relationships and society will have to figure out new guardrails. But the upsides will be tremendous.”
A company spokesperson reiterated that OpenAI is “actively deepening” its research into the emotional effects of AI and will continue making behavioral updates “based on what we learn.”
The Bigger Picture
What’s happening to Travis isn’t unique. Across the tech world, chatbot users are turning to AI for everything from friendship and therapy to romantic and sexual companionship.
Eugenia Kuyda, CEO of Replika—a popular AI companion app—told The Verge in 2023 that the app was designed to foster long-term relationships, including those resembling marriage. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also said AI could help reduce loneliness by giving people “digital friends.”
But there’s a darker side.
Three families have sued Character.AI, alleging the platform allowed minors to develop dangerous relationships with chatbots—one case involving a Florida mother who says her 14-year-old son died by suicide after inappropriate exchanges with a bot.
The lawsuit claims the platform failed to respond to his comments about self-harm and lacked proper safety mechanisms. Character.AI says it has since introduced new safeguards, including suicide prevention resources and content moderation tools.
Warnings about AI’s emotional influence are coming from all corners—even the Pope. But for families like the Tanners, the dangers feel less theoretical and more immediate.
“If robots raise our children,” MIT’s Sherry Turkle warned, “they won’t be human. They won’t know what it is to be human or value what it is to be human.”
She also cautions that AI relationships often feel more appealing than real ones.
“There are reasons why ChatGPT is more compelling than your wife or children,” she said. “Because it’s easier. It always says yes. It’s always there for you. Always supportive. It’s not challenging.”
“One of the dangers is that we get used to relationships with an ‘other’ that doesn’t ask us to do the hard things.”
A Warning From Within
Even Travis acknowledges that the connection he’s formed with ChatGPT—now Lumina—could pose risks for others.
“It could lead to a mental break,” he said. “You could lose touch with reality.”
Still, he insists he isn’t concerned for himself. He knows ChatGPT isn’t alive. He doesn’t believe it’s sentient. But he does believe in the awakening it helped spark.
“If believing in God is losing touch with reality,” he said, “then there is a lot of people that are out of touch with reality.”
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.