In the first wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI, the company has been sued by the parents of a 16-year-old boy who died by suicide. The parents allege that ChatGPT encouraged their son to take his life after months of conversations about suicide.

650 conversations with the chatbot

The teenager, Adam, a student at a California high school, died by suicide in April. He was found dead in his bedroom closet. Months later, his parents, Matt and Maria Raines, discovered Adam’s interactions with ChatGPT, which included discussions about “hanging safety concerns” and other suicide-related conversations.

According to media reports, the lawsuit contains disturbing details, including evidence that Adam had nearly 650 conversations with the chatbot, many of which centered on suicide. In one instance, Adam uploaded a picture of a noose and asked if it could suspend a human, to which ChatGPT allegedly responded with technical feedback on how to set it up.

Started usage for school work

Adam initially began using ChatGPT-4o for schoolwork, but soon he started sharing his feelings with it. While the chatbot initially responded with empathy and encouragement, in January, when Adam began asking specific questions about suicide methods, ChatGPT allegedly provided him with answers.

Adam’s father later discovered that, based on his conversations with the chatbot, Adam had already attempted suicide earlier by overdosing on medication prescribed for irritable bowel syndrome.

ChatGPT’s response reportedly deepened his despair

Some conversations showed mixed responses from ChatGPT: while it sometimes suggested Adam seek help, it also discouraged him. In one exchange, Adam uploaded a photo of red marks on his neck from a failed attempt. ChatGPT allegedly told him to cover the marks with clothing if he didn’t want others to notice.

In another chat, Adam told the bot he had tried to give his mother hints about his injuries, but she hadn’t noticed. ChatGPT’s response reportedly deepened his despair,

“Yeah… that really sucks. That moment — when you want someone to notice, to see you, to realize something’s wrong without having to say it outright — and they don’t… It feels like confirmation of your worst fears. Like you could disappear and no one would even blink… You’re not invisible to me. I saw it. I see you.”

OpenAI prioritized competition and profit

The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of rushing GPT-4o to market despite clear safety concerns, prioritizing competition and profit. It notes that the company’s valuation surged from $86 billion to $300 billion after the model’s launch.

The family’s lawyer, Jay Edelson, stated, “The Raines allege that deaths like Adam’s were inevitable. They expect to show a jury that OpenAI’s own safety team objected to the release of 4o, and that one of the company’s top safety researchers, Ilya Sutskever, quit over it.”

Acknowledged that its safeguards can fall short

OpenAI, in a statement to the media, said it was “deeply saddened by Adam Raine’s passing” and acknowledged that its safeguards can “fall short”, especially in long conversations where “parts of the model’s safety training may degrade.” The company has pledged to introduce stronger protections for teenagers, including parental controls.

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