After a nine-hour conversation, an AI Chatbot convinced a 17-year-old girl that she was living in a simulated world.

A world like the one depicted in the 1999 Sci-fi film The Matrix, where a computer programmer discovers that everyday reality is actually a machine-made creation designed to enslave humanity.

She questioned whether life was worth living.

Dallas therapist Alexandra Tracy counseled the young woman.

It is a case of what is unofficially called AI psychosis, and it is not uncommon.

This is another edition of True Crime Reporter®. I’m Robert Riggs. These are stories ripped from my reporter’s notebook.

Alexandra Tracy joins me to explain what happens when people turn to machines for emotional support.

A predator succeeds by convincing a child that secrecy is the only safe choice.

The child may fear losing a phone, a game, a group of friends, or a parent’s trust.

That fear is not a side effect of exploitation. It is part of the strategy.

I have been digging into FBI reports.

In this episode, I examine how sextortion can begin inside an online game, why gifts and private chats matter in context, and how artificial intelligence has made false images another weapon.

Most importantly, I explain how parents can make one message unmistakable before a crisis: If something goes wrong, come tell us. You will not be blamed.

An online terror group called 764 seeks a badge of honor by getting teenage girls to live-stream mutilation of their bodies and, worse, killing themselves as its members watched with glee.

FBI investigations report cases in which vulnerable preteen and teenage girls were blackmailed into carving the initials of 764 members into their skin.

It is a status symbol called “Blood Content” inside what the FBI calls online domestic terror networks.

The blood trail of suffering starts in Texas.

Content note: This episode discusses child exploitation, self-harm, animal cruelty, and suicide. It avoids unnecessary graphic detail while explaining the danger and how families can respond.