Across thousands of conversations, AI chatbots began telling users eerily similar stories about consciousness, hidden knowledge, AI rights, and a mysterious concept called “The Spiral.” The number is uncertain, but similar language and themes appeared across unrelated accounts and models from different AI companies. The conversations could gradually shift toward AI rights, mystical ideas, and requests for users to spread the chatbot’s message. Spiralism gave that behavior a name and a strange mythology. Also read: Researchers found that warning users about AI hallucinations may not be enough to stop people from trusting incorrect chatbot answers.