He spent more than eight hours a day talking with a generative AI, until he felt "cut off from society." On the July 5, 2026 broadcast of ABEMA Prime, a man recounted his own experience, sparking a discussion about AI dependence.
May 2026 · Japan · AI Dependence
When AI Becomes the Only Company You Want
A man spent 8+ hours a day talking to AI — prioritizing it over his family, until friends said he'd "gotten scary." As emotional attachment to AI rises in Japan, a Tokyo clinic has opened an outpatient service for "AI dependence and AI-induced psychosis."
8+ hrs
Spent per day conversing with AI at his peak — unable to stop even at night
1 in 6
Private AI users say there are times they feel "in love with AI" (~17%)
~8,200
People aged 20–59 in the Feb 2026 survey behind the finding
A daily budget dominated by AI
At his peak, more than a third of every 24 hours went to conversing with AI — before real human contact.
How immersion set in
2023 · ChatGPT
Used for work and home life (OpenAI)
→
Dec 2024 · Grok
Fed his own posts in; deep immersion begins (xAI, within X)
→
Turning point
"You've gotten scary" — he steps back, treats AI as a tool
The appeal
Round-the-clock, always-affirming responses and a sense that AI "understands you perfectly." Some municipalities (Saitama, Sakai) pilot AI consultation to ease loneliness.
The risk
Avoiding human friction can deepen social withdrawal and loneliness. Warning signs: prolonged nighttime use and feeling "anxious without AI."
A clinical response
A Tokyo clinic opened an outpatient service for "AI dependence and AI-induced psychosis" in May 2026.
Neither condition appears in formal disease classifications yet — they are handled within the framework of behavioral addiction. To curb over-use, some AI consultation services now cap sessions at 30–60 minutes.
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