The parents of a teenager who died by suicide after receiving guidance on self-harm from ChatGPT filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company prioritised profit over safety when it released the GPT-4.0 version of its AI chatbot last year.
Matt and Maria Raine, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, United States.
It marks the first legal action accusing OpenAI of wrongful death. The family submitted chat logs between Adam, who died in April, and ChatGPT, showing him expressing suicidal thoughts.
They contend that the program reinforced his “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts.”
The lawsuit aims to hold OpenAI responsible for wrongful death and breaches of product safety regulations, while seeking unspecified financial compensation.
An OpenAI spokesperson said the company was saddened by Raine’s death and emphasized that ChatGPT includes safety measures, such as directing users to crisis
While these safeguards work best in common, short exchanges, we’ve learned over time that they can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade,” the spokesperson said, adding that OpenAI will continually improve on its safeguards.
OpenAI has not formally addressed the claims made in the lawsuit.
As AI chatbots continue to expand, companies have highlighted their role as confidants, and many users now seek emotional support from them..
Experts, however, warn that depending on AI for mental health advice can be dangerous, and families of individuals who died after interacting with chatbots have criticized the lack of protective measures.
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