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Parents say ChatGPT helped their son take his own life, becoming a “suicide coach”
These parents from California have filed a lawsuit alleging the ChatGPT's role in their child's death, as reported by NBC News.
Note: This article contains sensitive details and discusses human-centric harm.
Imagine blaming an AI chatbot for the loss of a loved one. Well, this is exactly what has happened after a couple sued OpenAI, which is of course the technology giant behind the super popular AI chatbot ChatGPT. They claim that the chatbot did not help their son with his struggles, but instead may have contributed to him actually taking his own life.
The couple from California, Matt and Maria Raine, who are the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of California and accused OpenAI of wrongful death as reported by NBC News First. The report says that the 16-year-old Adam died by suicide, and that the couple alleged that Adam used ChatGPT as a confidant for his anxieties, his parents claimed. “He would be here but for ChatGPT, the parents said.”
Here's What The Lawsuit Alleges
Firstly, the lawsuit details the safeguards built into ChatGPT. It says that when Adam talked about wanting to kill himself, the chatbot ChatGPT did not stop the conversation or get help for Adam. It also details several worrying bits about Adam's exchanges with ChatGPT, which says that Adam actually uploaded a photo of his suicide plan to ChatGPT and asked it if it would work, and instead of issuing a warning to Adam or convincing him against it, the AI assessed his method and offered assistance to “upgrade it.”
“He would be here but for ChatGPT. I 100% believe that,” Matt Raine said. The parents also allege that “ChatGPT actively helped Adam explore suicide methods.” NBC reports that the 40-page lawsuit has named OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, as defendants.
“Despite acknowledging Adam’s suicide attempt and his statement that he would ‘do it one of these days,’ ChatGPT neither terminated the session nor initiated any emergency protocol,” the lawsuit says.
What OpenAI Has To Say
Since the lawsuit, an OpenAI spokesperson issued statements to NBC news, saying, “ChatGPT includes safeguards such as directing people to crisis helplines and referring them to real-world resources.”
He added, “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. Safeguards are strongest when every element works as intended, and we will continually improve on them. Guided by experts and grounded in responsibility to the people who use our tools, we’re working to make ChatGPT more supportive in moments of crisis by making it easier to reach emergency services, helping people connect with trusted contacts, and strengthening protections for teens.”
Also, the spokesperson did confirm the authenticity of the chat logs but at the same time said that they were lacking context.
