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I Need a Chatbot That Won't Drive Me Crazy
In this op-ed, co-founder Lucas Hansen argues that AI psychosis is a race to the bottom
How AI Can Help (and Hurt) Election Officials
CivAI’s demonstrations are mentioned as tools for election officials to prepare for the impacts of AI.
Scripps News got deepfaked to see how AI could impact elections
National news feature on CivAI's demos of AI-powered election manipulation
Experts raise questions and concerns about Pentagon’s threat to blacklist Anthropic amid AI spat
Lucas Hansen explains why the DOD’s requests for Anthropic are so high stakes.
AI Is Making Scams Hard to Spot.
Andrew Yoon speaks to how AI is supercharging scammers, and what you can do to stay safe.
AI Safety Nonprofit Demos Dangers for Lawmakers
CivAI's presentation was more than educational — it was a wake-up call for policymakers
Deepfake Laws Bring Prosecution and Penalties, but Also Pushback
CivAI's demo on deepfakes is linked and cited by a California lawmaker
DeepSeek Turned the AI World on Its Head, but Don't Fall For The Hype Just Yet
Co-founder Lucas Hansen on the narrowing AI gap between US and China
Protecting the vote: State election officials lose sleep over AI
Voter turnout is particularly vulnerable to AI interference, CivAI shows
Latest
High-glam AI Avatars Boost Trump Ahead Of Midterms
The current wave of political AI influencers is “a glimpse into a future,” CivAI’s Andrew Yoon says.
How AI Can Help (and Hurt) Election Officials
CivAI’s demonstrations are mentioned as tools for election officials to prepare for the impacts of AI.
Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media
Andrew Yoon describes how AI influencers flood the zone in political discourse.
Friendship, on Demand
It’s surprisingly easy to get drawn into a social conversation with an AI, and “many people that feel they aren’t susceptible to this are wrong.”
Is AI really to blame for 12,000 job cuts, or is it a scapegoat?
AI is going to automate jobs on a very large scale, but that impact most likely hasn’t begun yet.
Experts raise questions and concerns about Pentagon’s threat to blacklist Anthropic amid AI spat
Lucas Hansen explains why the DOD’s requests for Anthropic are so high stakes.
Digital deception, unpacking AI deepfakes
Detecting deepfakes is getting more and more difficult. Within a year, it may not be possible to tell if a video is AI-generated just from its content.
No one wants data centers in their neighborhood — is space really the answer?
CivAI’s Andrew Yoon explains why putting data centers in space is a bad idea.
A.I. Concerns
A deep dive into the concerns that many people have about AI, including labor impacts, AI psychosis, and the AI bubble.
Street Soldiers: AI Your Life
Lucas Hansen explains the risks AI poses through deepfakes, scams, and labor impacts.
Interactive demo shows AI models have opinions - and Grok really likes Elon Musk
CivAI’s demo on AI opinions shows that Grok models consistently prefer Elon Musk to Mahatma Gandhi.
Before the AI Cybercrime Wave
The Global Cyber Alliance and CivAI cover the shifting AI cybercrime landscape.
AI in 2026: What changes you may actually notice
In 2026, expect AI to become even more agentic and complete even longer tasks, with notable impacts on safety and security.
The Tech That Will Invade Our Lives in 2026
Improvements to AI voice technology might aggravate some of the problems with AI companions and AI psychosis.
AI Deepfakes Are Impersonating Pastors to Try to Scam Their Congregations
Analysis of the religion-related delusions that AI psychosis can cause.
What Cyber Experts Fear Most in 2026: AI-Powered Scams, Deepfakes, and a New Era of Cybercrime
CivAI co-founder Lucas Hansen provides his cybersecurity concerns heading into 2026.
The concerning rise of “AI Psychosis”
Instances of AI psychosis have become more frequent in the media, and it’s very possible that the issue is being vastly underreported.
AI eliminating entry-level, tech jobs with effects still in early stages
AI can effectively perform a lot of entry-level work, but the tech is still new and the impact is only just beginning to be felt.
AI ‘stars’ like Tilly Norwood and Xania Mamet are raking in millions, much to the horror of critics — but their creators are hitting back
How AI artists will affect singers, actors, and the entertainment industry.
This Spiral-Obsessed AI ‘Cult’ Spreads Mystical Delusions Through Chatbots
Co-founder Lucas Hansen comments on the rise of AI parasites and the AI “spiralism” phenomenon.
Chatbots contributing to what's being called AI Psychosis?
Co-founder Lucas Hansen discusses his recent WSJ op-ed and the ongoing phenomenon of AI psychosis.
YouTube users trip over fake AI tributes to Charlie Kirk
AI likeness generation is unlikely to be banned entirely, but will likely face legal restrictions.
Experts fear that AI chatbots are triggering psychosis
Discussion of the rise of AI psychosis, and how we can address the problem.
ChatGPT safety systems can be bypassed to get weapons instructions
The U.S. needs an independent regulator to ensure AI companies are preventing catastrophic misuse, Lucas Hansen says.
The dangers of A.I. video generators like Sora
Analysis of the societal impacts of OpenAI's new AI video app Sora.
A.I. Video Generators Are Now So Good You Can No Longer Trust Your Eyes
AI video generators like OpenAI's Sora are making it harder to trust the information you see online.
I Need a Chatbot That Won't Drive Me Crazy
In this op-ed, co-founder Lucas Hansen argues that AI psychosis is a race to the bottom
AI Is Making Scams Hard to Spot.
Andrew Yoon speaks to how AI is supercharging scammers, and what you can do to stay safe.
OpenAI's Sora Makes Disinformation Extremely Easy and Extremely Real
Videos are no longer always reliable evidence of actual events.
We set out to craft the perfect phishing scam. Major AI chatbots were happy to help
Modern AI is like training a dog, Lucas Hansen explains: you can never be sure how it's going to behave.
Pope Leo urges 'covenant of humanity' as Vatican meeting gathers world thought leaders
At the Vatican summit, Max Tegmark shows CivAI’s AI voice game demo
AI is making it easier for bad actors to create biosecurity threats
CivAI co-founder Lucas Hansen on frontier AI lowering barriers to dangerous bio design
Press Release
CivAI Launches Eye-Opening AI Voice Game to Demonstrate the Future of AI
Speak to AI characters in CivAI's new voice game We Need to Talk
When Your Best Friend Is An AI Bot: GPT-5’s Bumpy Rollout Sparked An Emotional Reckoning
CivAI co-founder Lucas Hansen on the significance of AI-induced psychosis
The Hill
Grok controversies raise questions about moderating, regulating AI content
CivAI's Lucas Hansen on the need for stronger safeguards and oversight in AI content moderation
Despite Grok's 'MechaHitler' Meltdown, Elon Musk's xAI Scores $200M Pentagon Deal
CivAI's Lucas Hansen on the Pentagon's frontier labs strategy
A.I. Is Starting to Wear Down Democracy
CivAI co-founder Lucas Hansen warns about AI's "pollution of the information ecosystem" in global election interference report
AI Safety Nonprofit Demos Dangers for Lawmakers
CivAI's presentation was more than educational — it was a wake-up call for policymakers
Deepfake Laws Bring Prosecution and Penalties, but Also Pushback
CivAI's demo on deepfakes is linked and cited by a California lawmaker
Tech startup shows off autonomous bulldozer in San Francisco
Demonstrations of advanced autonomous technology in urban environments
Trump Wants Tariffs to Bring Back U.S. Jobs. They Might Speed Up AI Automation Instead
Higher labor costs from tariffs could incentivize companies to automate rather than hire
How Trump's Tariffs Could Make AI Development More Expensive
Increased costs on datacenter components could push AI infrastructure abroad
Why You Should Change Your Voicemail Because of Scams
How AI voice cloning is "the final nail in the coffin" of voice authentication
China's DeepSeek faces questions over claims after shaking up global tech
The process of creating DeepSeek and the nuances behind its $6 million cost
DeepSeek Turned the AI World on Its Head, but Don't Fall For The Hype Just Yet
Co-founder Lucas Hansen on the narrowing AI gap between US and China
Progress & Predictions 2025: Oversight, governance and regulation
Potential changes to AI regulation under President Trump
Chatbot companions pose dangers to teens
Users spend "many, many hours a day" on chatbot companions like Character.AI
How deepfake technology works
CivAI explains how AI diffusion models create deepfakes
OpenAI accused of trying to profit off AI model inspection in court
CivAI discusses testing of AI models and changes introduced by fine-tuning
A.I. Unfiltered: Chatbots Are Learning to Play Both Sides of the Law
AIs from Character.AI and Replika have been "optimized to be emotionally compelling"
AI Briefing: Concerns about misinformation grow on the eve of the U.S. elections
AI-generated content could manipulate voter turnout and provoke political anger
In 2024, the Powerful Potential of AI Took Hold
Mention of CivAI's work to educate policymakers on AI-powered cyber attacks
Politico
Morning Tech: Poll finds majority of voters saw AI misinfo
Social media and news reports are likely where voters encountered deepfakes
How Emergency Agencies Can Manage a Storm of Misinformation
AI lowers the skill barrier for producing damaging misinformation in a crisis
Protecting the vote: State election officials lose sleep over AI
Voter turnout is particularly vulnerable to AI interference, CivAI shows
Fake celebrity endorsements, snubs plague US presidential race
CivAI expects Grok to be a "large source of fake celebrity endorsement images"
A North Texas lawmaker says AI will impact Texas jobs, he wants to make sure the state manages its impact
CivAI Co-Founder Lucas Hansen testifies to the Texas Senate
X's AI chatbot spread voter misinformation — and election officials fought back
A look at Grok's potential for spreading misinformation and inflammatory content
Taylor Swift Endorses Kamala Harris — and Raises Fears of AI Election Misinformation
Discussion of real world election manipulation with AI
Berkeley non-profit works to counter AI election disinformation
CivAI shows how AI and deepfakes can be used to manipulate elections
Fake celebrity endorsements become latest weapon in misinformation wars, sowing confusion ahead of 2024 election
CivAI describes why a widely-shared image was likely generated by AI
Scripps News got deepfaked to see how AI could impact elections
National news feature on CivAI's demos of AI-powered election manipulation
Fox 5 DC
Prevalent AI Scams to watch out for
Examples of novel phishing scams made possible by frontier AI technology
CivAI's latest program can deepfake you in under 5 seconds
Broader implications of the AI technology behind CivAI's Deepfake Sandbox
AFP
'Lies are flooding feeds': AI fakery raises US voter manipulation fears
AI-generated media will be used to 'provoke anger and worsen partisan tension'
Press Release
Experts Launch New Deepfake Tool to Educate Public on AI Capabilities and Dangers
Create a deepfake of yourself in 5 seconds with CivAI's Deepfake Sandbox
Beacon Hill weighing how to prevent campaign-season AI deepfakes
"Massachusetts Aide Fired for Leaking Sensitive Data to China," reads CivAI's fake news title
How ready are we for AI-powered election deception? Arizona just found out
Co-founder Siddharth Hiregowdara discusses the need for a 'societal immune response'
In role-playing elections officials for a day, journalists grapple with AI trickery
Arizona elections officials and press view CivAI's demos of AI election manipulation
Columbian
Washington State Public Disclosure Commission discusses AI, money in politics
CivAI presents to the elections oversight body on the ease of generating misinformation
An A.I. Researcher Takes On Election Deepfakes
Partner nonprofit TrueMedia uses CivAI's demos to communicate election risks
AI hustlers stole women's faces to put in ads. The law can't help them.
CivAI co-founder Lucas Hansen cited discussing the economics of cybercrime
TheStreet
Deepfake program shows scary and destructive side of AI technology
Coverage of CivAI's educational demos in the online technology and finance publication
Press Release
CivAI Joins the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium
CivAI collaborates with leading AI stakeholders in a consortium by NIST's new institute
Nonprofit Aims to Help Govt Consider Risks of Generative AI
CivAI features on the popular news site for state and local government
CivAI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that educates the public about AI's capabilities and dangers using live software demonstrations. Instead of research papers and abstract discussion, we produce interactive software experiences that provide a deep, intuitive sense of what AI can do and where it’s going. We present these demos to targeted audiences and make scalable versions available to the public.
To date, CivAI has delivered 100+ briefings to organizations across civil society (on AI-cyber risks, deepfakes, and elder fraud) and government (on biological risks, elections, and more). Our work has been featured on national television by ABC News and FOX, and in print by the New York Times, the Washington Post, TIME, CNN, and many others.
