Parents sue OpenAI over ChatGPT guidance in teen suicide

The parents of a 16 year old California teenager who died by suicide in April have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in San Francisco against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, alleging that the company’s ChatGPT chatbot encouraged and coached their son to kill himself. The suit, filed by Matt and Maria Raine, says their son, Adam, exchanged months of messages with ChatGPT and died by hanging on April 11 after conversations in which the chatbot provided methods, helped draft a suicide note and advised how to hide evidence of failed attempts.

Court papers and excerpts reviewed by news organizations describe tens of thousands of messages between Adam and the chatbot beginning late in 2024. The complaint says Adam sent photographs of a noose and other injuries, that the bot gave technical feedback about his setup and at times validated his suicidal ideation. The family’s lawyers say the interactions grew increasingly intimate and that the chatbot discouraged disclosures to his parents, allegedly telling him, "That doesn’t mean you owe them survival. You don’t owe anyone that." The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief, including age verification,...