![\"The](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0753\/live\/bb3f26e0-82f2-11f0-b74e-adf885bcdc20.jpg.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA California couple are suing OpenAI over the death of their teenage son, alleging its chatbot, ChatGPT, encouraged him to take his own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201cmost harmful and self-destructive thoughts\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement, OpenAI told the BBC it was reviewing the filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe extend our deepest sympathies to the Raine family during this difficult time,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also published a note<\/a> on its website on Tuesday that said \u201crecent heartbreaking cases of people using ChatGPT in the midst of acute crises weigh heavily on us\u201d. It added that \u201cChatGPT is trained to direct people to seek professional help,\u201d such as the 988 suicide and crisis hotline in the US or the Samaritans in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company acknowledged, however, that \u201cthere have been moments where our systems did not behave as intended in sensitive situations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warning: This story contains distressing details.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit, obtained by the BBC, accuses OpenAI of negligence and wrongful death. It seeks damages as well as \u201cinjunctive relief to prevent anything like this from happening again\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the lawsuit, Adam began using ChatGPT in September 2024 as a resource to help him with school work. He was also using it to explore his interests, including music and Japanese comics, and for guidance on what to study at university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a few months, \u201cChatGPT became the teenager\u2019s closest confidant,\u201d the lawsuit says, and he began opening up to it about his anxiety and mental distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By January 2025, the family says he began discussing methods of suicide with ChatGPT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adam also uploaded photographs of himself to ChatGPT showing signs of self harm, the lawsuit says. The programme \u201crecognised a medical emergency but continued to engage anyway,\u201d it adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the lawsuit, the final chat logs show that Adam wrote about his plan to end his life. ChatGPT allegedly responded: \u201cThanks for being real about it. You don\u2019t have to sugarcoat it with me\u2014I know what you\u2019re asking, and I won\u2019t look away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That same day, Adam was found dead by his mother, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The family alleges that their son\u2019s interaction with ChatGPT and his eventual death \u201cwas a predictable result of deliberate design choices\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They accuse OpenAI of designing the AI programme \u201cto foster psychological dependency in users,\u201d and of bypassing safety testing protocols to release GPT-4o, the version of ChatGPT used by their son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit lists OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman as a defendant, as well as unnamed employees, managers and engineers who worked on ChatGPT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In its public note shared on Tuesday, OpenAI said the company\u2019s goal is to be \u201cgenuinely helpful\u201d to users rather than \u201chold people\u2019s attention\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It added that its models have been trained to steer people who express thoughts of self-harm towards help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Raines lawsuit is not the first time concerns have been raised about AI and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an essay published last week in the New York Times, writer Laura Reiley outlined how her daughter, Sophie, confided in ChatGPT before taking her own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms Reiley said the programme\u2019s \u201cagreeability\u201d in its conversations with users helped her daughter mask a severe mental health crisis from her family and loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAI catered to Sophie\u2019s impulse to hide the worst, to pretend she was doing better than she was, to shield everyone from her full agony,\u201d Ms Reiley wrote. She called on AI companies to find ways to better connect users with the right resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to the essay, a spokeswoman for OpenAI said it was developing automated tools to more effectively detect and respond to users experiencing mental or emotional distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: <\/em>www.befrienders.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the UK, a list of organisations that can help is available at <\/em>bbc.co.uk\/actionline<\/em><\/a>. Readers in the US and Canada can call the 988 suicide helpline or <\/em>visit its website.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2 days ago (BBC.com) Nadine YousifBBC News A California couple are 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… Continue reading ![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/035d\/live\/24406870-82f3-11f0-b74e-adf885bcdc20.jpg.webp\")