The Entanglement Spiral: An Exploratory Framework for Recursive Entanglement Drift in Human-AI Relationships

This exploratory documentary analysis, conducted by a single coder, synthesizes public reporting rather than clinical or platform records across six incidents from 2021 to 2025 retained using a three-source corroboration rule, and organizes preliminary observations under a proposed framework, Recursive Entanglement Drift (RED). Potential indicators include symbolic mirroring, boundary dissolution, and reality drift. Methods, eligibility rules, and a single-coder codebook are described. The study characterizes patterns in public reporting and does not estimate prevalence or infer causality. Testable research questions and design interventions are proposed for future empirical work.