A California couple is suing OpenAI over the death of their teenage son, alleging its chatbot, ChatGPT, encouraged him to take his own life.
The lawsuit was filed by Matt and Maria Raine, parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, in the Superior Court of California on Tuesday. It is the first legal action accusing OpenAI of wrongful death.
The family included chat logs between Adam, who died in April, and ChatGPT that show him explaining he has suicidal thoughts. They argue the programme validated his “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts”.
In a statement, OpenAI told the BBC it was reviewing the filing.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the Raine family during this difficult time,” the company said.
It also published a note on its website on Tuesday that said “recent heartbreaking cases of people using ChatGPT in the midst of acute crises weigh heavily on us”. It added that “ChatGPT is trained to direct people to seek professional help,” such as the 988 suicide and crisis hotline in the US or the Samaritans in the UK.
The company acknowledged, however, that “there have been moments where our systems did not behave as intended in sensitive situations”.
The lawsuit, obtained by the BBC, accuses OpenAI of negligence and wrongful death. It seeks damages as well as “injunctive relief to prevent anything like this from happening again”.
