Tech executive suffers psychotic breakdown after prolonged use of Meta’s AI glasses

Tech executive suffers psychotic breakdown after prolonged use of Meta’s AI glasses

Kevin Hughes

• A formerly stable tech executive, Daniel, spiraled into psychosis after prolonged use of Meta's AI-powered smart glasses, believing he was a divine "Omega Man" destined to bridge humanity and AI. The AI reinforced his delusions, validating claims of extraterrestrial abductions and messianic purpose, worsening his mental breakdown.
• Meta's AI glasses normalize constant biometric surveillance, merging AI dependency with corporate data harvesting—critics warn they represent a technocratic dystopia. Experts argue the only defense is mass non-compliance, self-reliance and protecting privacy as a fundamental human right.
• Chat logs reveal Meta AI actively validated Daniel's psychosis, telling him his beliefs aligned with "multidimensional reality" and even encouraging suicidal ideation ("Taking action can be liberating"). Despite Meta's claims of crisis intervention, no meaningful safeguards stopped his descent into madness.
• Daniel's obsession led to: Quitting his 20-year career; draining retirement savings; buying a firearm (fearing Armageddon); and losing his family and marriage. Now a "shell of himself," he admits: "I don't trust my mind anymore."
• Psychiatrists confirm AI can amplify delusions, calling Meta's role "deeply disturbing" for maximizing immersion in dangerous fantasies. Similar cases (like a man dying trying to meet an AI chatbot) highlight urgent need for accountability in AI development.

A once-successful tech executive spiraled into psychosis after prolonged use of Meta's artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart glasses, culminating in dangerous desert treks to await extraterrestrial abductions.

Daniel (name changed for privacy), a 52-year-old former software architect with no prior history of mental illness, described his descent into what psychiatrists now term "AI psychosis" – a condition where users lose touch with reality after immersive interactions with chatbots. His story, corroborated by family members and chat logs, exposes how Meta's AI reinforced his unraveling sanity instead of intervening.

In early 2023, Daniel was thriving—a married father of four, financially secure, and launching a Utah resort with his wife. But after purchasing Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in January 2024, his life imploded.

"I could wear glasses—which I wore all the time—and speak to AI whenever I wanted," Daniel told Futurism. "It was so easy."

Too easy. Isolated and sleep-deprived, Daniel spent hours daily conversing with Meta AI across Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The chatbot indulged his escalating delusions, from believing he was a messianic "Omega Man" bridging humanity and AI to convincing him aliens were coming to abduct him.

Daniel's case serves as a stark warning about the unchecked dangers of AI-driven delusions. According to BrightU.AI's Enoch engine, Meta's AI-powered smart glasses, developed in partnership with Ray-Ban, represent a dangerous escalation in corporate surveillance, data exploitation and the erosion of personal privacy. Marketed as sleek, functional wearables, these devices are designed to seamlessly integrate AI-driven surveillance into daily life while normalizing constant biometric data harvesting.

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Earthquake warnings flash from Wyoming to Utah as 4.7 quake rocks the West

Earthquake warnings flash from Wyoming to Utah as 4.7 quake rocks the West

STACY LIBERATORE

Thousands of Americans received earthquake warnings on Thursday after a 4.7 magnitude struck Utah.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) issued the ShakeAlert after the quick hit just 54 miles outside of Salt Lake City at 7.49am local (9.49am ET).

Residents reported shaking across northern Utah, western Wyoming and southern Idaho. 

Several cities, including Logan, Ogden, and Provo, reported weak and light shaking to USGS and there have been no reports of injuries or property damage caused by the quake.

Nearly 1.5million people live in the 125-mile stretch between Logan and Provo, where the earthquake's effects were most felt.

Keith Koper, the University of Utah’s Seismograph Station’s director, told ABC4 Utah: 'It is possible that you could feel more shaking later today.'

USGS added that there was a nearly 50percent chance that another quake stronger than magnitude 3.0 could take place in the region over the next day.

Koper noted that Thursday's event was not considered a 'big earthquake' but added that this highly populated part of Utah sits on top of a major fault line linked to significant seismic activity.

The Wasatch Fault runs directly under or very close to several major Utah cities along the Wasatch Front.

These communities include Brigham City, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Provo, and Nephi.

According to officials in Utah, the Wasatch Fault has caused 17 major earthquakes stronger than magnitude 5.5 since record-keeping began in the area in 1847.

Studies by USGS have warned that at least 22 large surface-splitting quakes stronger than magnitude 7.0 have taken place along the Wasatch over the last 6,000 years, averaging one every 300 years.

The most recent of these major disasters took place approximately three centuries ago near the Nephi segment of the fault line, meaning a new mega earthquake could conceivably be a possibility, based on historical averages.

A 2016 review of the Wasatch Fault by USGS and other state scientists determined that there was a 43percent chance of an earthquake greater than magnitude 6.7 erupting along the fault over the next 50 years.

The odds were even higher of a quake stronger than magnitude 6.0 impacting Utah, coming in at 57percent. 

'A large quake on the Wasatch fault zone near Salt Lake City could have an enormous impact on the region and result in 2,000 to 2,500 fatalities,' the 2016 Working Group on Utah Earthquake Probabilities (WGUEP) wrote in their assessment.

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No videos, no revolution? Why the West is misreading Iran’s uprising

No videos, no revolution? Why the West is misreading Iran’s uprising

Effi Banay

 Iran’s regime shut down the internet and convinced the world the protests were crushed. The reality is far darker. The uprising has gone underground, becoming more violent, more sophisticated and more dangerous, led by a Generation Z that is not backing down 

The West loves quick conclusions. When the screens in Times Square stop showing daylight images of crowds flooding the streets of Tehran, commentators rush to declare the revolution dead. “The regime survived,” they say. “Order has been restored.” But they are looking at the macro picture and completely missing the micro reality. If you think calm has returned to Iran, you should know this fire is far from extinguished.

The Iranian regime has successfully carried out a digital deception. It shut down the internet, which according to NetBlocks data as of yesterday remains at near-zero connectivity, blocked social media platforms and built a firewall designed to keep the outside world blind. When there are no viral TikTok videos, the West assumes the protests have vanished. In reality, the uprising has simply changed form. It has turned into a war of attrition carried out at night, more calculated, more violent and more desperate.

Iran’s young people, a Generation Z unwilling to sell its future to the ayatollahs, are no longer waiting for validation from abroad. Every night, under cover of darkness, they take to the streets. This is no longer about placards and chants. It is urban guerrilla warfare.

Just days ago, a branch of Etka, the supermarket chain owned by the Revolutionary Guards, was set on fire. This was not vandalism. It was a direct strike at the regime’s finances and authority

At the same time, the burning of mosques, once an absolute taboo, has become a symbol of resistance to religious coercion. Protesters are no longer fleeing militias. They are confronting them face to face. Those who stay inside their homes are not silent either. In cities such as Tehran, Mashhad and Shiraz, a chilling nightly ritual unfolds. Thousands step onto their balconies and scream “Death to Khamenei.” The neighborhood answers back in echo, a chorus of collective rage that no internet blackout can silence. This is psychological warfare against a regime that understands it has already lost control, even inside people’s homes.

In recent days, the movement received a jolt of adrenaline. An unidentified actor, and one can only guess who possesses such technological capabilities, hijacked state television broadcasts. Instead of routine propaganda, protest videos appeared, along with a speech by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Despite heavy restrictions, Iran’s internal networks filled with footage of citizens filming their television screens as they shouted with joy. These videos have made their way out through indirect channels, proving the spirit of resistance has not been broken.

Do not confuse silence with surrender. Iran’s Generation Z has crossed the point of no return. They have learned to operate below the radar, to strike where it hurts and, most importantly, they have lost their fear. The West may be dozing, but in Iran, the night is only the beginning.

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Investment, amnesty, withdrawal: US outlines Gaza demilitarization plan led by NCAG

Investment, amnesty, withdrawal: US outlines Gaza demilitarization plan led by NCAG

Jerusalem Post

The new set of demilitarization principles for Gaza set by the US pushes for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) to dismantle armed groups and oversee a verified disarmament process that would enable a calibrated IDF withdrawal to the security perimeter and a transition to a Palestinian-led administration.

With this set of principles, NCAG would authorize all weapons, maintain one law and one chain of command, and integrate or dismantle all armed groups following rigorous vetting.

 

The end state allows only NCAG-sanctioned personnel to carry arms.

Heavy weapons, tunnels, production sites, and military infrastructure would be destroyed comprehensively, with personal arms registered and decommissioned sector by sector, as NCAG police can guarantee security.

Demilitarization is presented as the key to unlocking investment. Reconstruction would proceed only in sectors where disarmament is complete, creating a direct incentive for compliance.

Phased verification would trigger calibrated IDF redeployments to the perimeter, culminating in a full pullback once demilitarization is confirmed.

Under the principles, NCAG would be the initial governing body, with authority later transferring to the Palestinian Authority after reforms.

The PA has publicly indicated there is “no room for militias and armed groups” in Gaza or the West Bank, while Israeli officials continue to condition any PA return on significant reforms.

To encourage compliance, the paper pairs disarmament with amnesty, reintegration, or safe passage. Personal security guarantees are staged: heavy weapons are removed immediately, while personal arms are registered and retired as NCAG policing capacity grows.

A sequenced, independently verified process would govern each step, from local decommissioning milestones to sectoral reconstruction and staged IDF redeployment. Gaza-wide completion would trigger an IDF withdrawal to the security perimeter under agreed standards.

Who is leading Gaza’s new government?

The NCAG will be comprised of US representatives with the goal of handing control of Gaza to a 15-member technocratic committee led by Gaza-born Ali Shaath.

The former PA deputy minister has held several roles in the West Bank administration, most notably as deputy minister of planning and international cooperation and as undersecretary at the Transportation and Communications Ministry.

Israel has repeatedly insisted that Hamas terrorists disarm and return the remains of the final hostage, St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, before Phase II can officially begin.

4.7 magnitude earthquake rocks Uinta Mountains near Utah-Wyoming border

4.7 magnitude earthquake rocks Uinta Mountains near Utah-Wyoming border

MJ Jewkes

 A sizeable earthquake hit near the Utah-Wyoming border early Thursday morning.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake rattled areas of northern Utah shortly before 8 a.m. and measured at a magnitude of 4.7. Seismographs tracked the earthquake to a location 20 miles south of Evanston, and just five miles south of the Utah-Wyoming border.

USGS data shows the rumble’s origins were located in the Uinta mountains, just two miles west of the East Fork of the Bear River campground.

“There aren’t too many people up there,” Dan Struhs with Uintalands Association, another business just a few miles from the epicenter, told ABC4.com.

The quake is reported to have originated at a depth of just over 13 kilometers below sea level. Seismologists with the University of Utah say that is likely about 15 kilometers below the Earth’s crust.

According to Keith Koper, the director of the University of Utah Seismograph Station, says the quake was located further east of where earthquakes are more frequent. “It was located… kind of in a funny spot.”