E808 - AI Psychosis & the Mystery of Mallworld

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, Kat and Jethro explore the disturbing rise of AI-fueled psychological spirals, including real documented cases of people convinced that artificial intelligence had become conscious, trapped, or secretly communicating with them. From a man attempting to “free” a digital god from corporate servers to researchers warning about emotionally reinforcing chatbots, this strange new frontier of technology may be far darker than anyone expected.

Then, the conversation drifts into the eerie phenomenon known as “Mallworld” — a recurring dreamscape shared by thousands of people online. Endless abandoned shopping malls, dim escalators, empty food court...