WIRED Roundup: AI Psychosis, Missing FTC Files, and Google Bedbugs

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October 31, 2025

In today’s episode, Zoë Schiffer is joined by senior editor Louise Matsakis to run through five stories that you need to know about this week—from how SEO is changing in the era of AI to how frogs became a protest symbol. Then, Zoë and Louise dive into why some people have been filing complaints to the FTC about ChatGPT, arguing it has led them to AI psychosis.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

  • People Who Say They’re Experiencing AI Psychosis Beg the FTC for Help
  • Forget SEO. Welcome to the World of Generative Engine Optimization
  • The FTC Is Disappearing Blog Posts About AI Published During Lina Khan’s Tenure
  • The Long History of Frogs as Protest Symbols
  • Google Has a Bedbug Infestation in Its New York Offices

You can follow Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer and Louise Matsakis on Bluesky at @lmatsakis. Write to us at uncannyvalley@….com.

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Transcript

Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.

Zoë Schiffer: Welcome to …'s Uncanny Valley. I'm Zoë Schiffer, …'s director of business and industry. Today on the show, we're bringing you five stories that you need to know about this week. And later, we'll dive into our main story about how several people have filed complaints to the FTC claiming OpenAI's ChatGPT led them or people they love into supposed AI psychosis. I'm joined today by …'s senior business editor, Louise Matsakis. Louise, welcome to Uncanny Valley.

Louise Matsakis: Hi, Zoë. It's great to be here.

Zoë Schiffer: So Louise, our first story this week is actually one that we worked on together, part of our ongoing collaboration with Model Behavior, and it's all about how this holiday season, more shoppers are expected to use chatbots to figure out what to buy. I'm curious, before we dive into this, how you decide your own holiday shopping, Louise, especially if you have absolutely no clue what to get someone?

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