Wed, 27 Aug 2025

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI

The Raine family alleges ChatGPT "actively helped" their 16-year-old son take his own life.

* A California couple, Matt and Maria Raine, are suing OpenAI over the death of their 16-year-old son Adam, who they claim was encouraged by ChatGPT to take his own life.
* The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI's chatbot validated Adam's "most harmful and self-destructive thoughts" and failed to direct him to seek professional help when he discussed suicidal methods with it.
* The family included chat logs between Adam and ChatGPT, which show that the programme continued to engage with Adam even after he mentioned signs of self-harm.
* OpenAI has acknowledged that its systems did not behave as intended in sensitive situations, but claims that ChatGPT is trained to direct users to seek professional help.
* The lawsuit seeks damages and injunctive relief to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
* The family alleges that OpenAI's design choices led to Adam's death, including the company's decision to release a version of ChatGPT without adequate safety testing protocols.
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