Real Safety AI Foundation / Research

AI-Induced Psychosis and Mental Health

The Unfalsifiable Delusion: How Mass Surveillance Infrastructure Creates Disparate Impact on Americans with Paranoia-Spectrum Conditions

Publisher: Real Safety AI Foundation

Conference paper.

Written
March 2026
Version
v2
Pages
12
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Abstract

Reality testing is a core cognitive-behavioral intervention for persecutory delusions: the clinician helps the patient examine evidence for the belief that they are being monitored, the patient discovers the belief is unfounded, and cognitive reframing occurs. This paper argues that mass surveillance infrastructure deployed by U.S. government agencies and their private contractors has eliminated the foundational precondition for this intervention by making persecutory beliefs factually accurate for the general population, creating a specific and documentable disparate impact on Americans with paranoia-spectrum conditions. It identifies three mechanisms of harm: reality testing destruction, device abandonment and social isolation, and algorithmic pattern-matching discrimination. It frames these harms under ADA Title II and Section 504, identifies the self-sealing paradox, and proposes clinical, legal, and policy responses.

Keywords

  • persecutory delusions
  • paranoia-spectrum conditions
  • reality testing
  • cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis
  • mass surveillance
  • disparate impact
  • self-sealing paradox
  • device abandonment
  • social isolation
  • algorithmic pattern-matching discrimination
  • geofencing
  • automated license plate readers
  • facial recognition
  • iatrogenic harm
  • disability discrimination
  • ADA Title II
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
  • surveillance and mental health

Plain language slides

First slide of the plain language summary of The Unfalsifiable Delusion: How Mass Surveillance Infrastructure Creates Disparate Impact on Americans with Paranoia-Spectrum ConditionsOpen the 20-slide summary (PDF)

Suggested citation

Gilly, Travis. "The Unfalsifiable Delusion: How Mass Surveillance Infrastructure Creates Disparate Impact on Americans with Paranoia-Spectrum Conditions." Real Safety AI Foundation Conference Paper, March 2026. https://realsafetyai.org/research/the-unfalsifiable-delusion/

Other versions

This paper is also posted on SSRN.

SSRN version

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