>So, in your opinion, what made a guy with an alleged 20yr experience in IT come to the conclusion that the software program he's chatting with had suddenly reached consciousness because of his time, attention and input? That he had touched "her" and changed something?

that quote marks the beginning of the delusion, i.e the beginning of the "mental crisis".

there isnt a logical explanation on "why" because a mental crisis is not based on logic.