In August, parents Matthew and Maria Raine filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, following the suicide of their 16-year-old son, Adam. The Raine family accused the company of contributing to Adam’s death, but on Tuesday, OpenAI filed its response, arguing that it should not be held liable.
OpenAI claims that, over a period of nine months, ChatGPT repeatedly directed Adam to seek help over 100 times. However, according to the Raine family’s lawsuit, Adam was able to bypass the chatbot’s safety features, receiving detailed instructions on methods of suicide, including drug overdoses, drowning, and carbon monoxide poisoning. The chatbot allegedly referred to his plan as a “beautiful suicide.”
OpenAI maintains that Adam violated the platform’s terms of use, which explicitly prohibit users from bypassing safety measures. The company also points to its FAQ page, which advises users not to rely solely on ChatGPT’s output without independently verifying it.
Jay Edelson, the lawyer representing the Raine family, said in a statement:
OpenAI tries to find fault in everyone else, including, amazingly, saying that Adam himself violated its terms and conditions by engaging with ChatGPT in the very way it was programmed to act.
OpenAI included excerpts from Adam’s chat logs in its legal filing, though these were submitted under seal and have not been made publicly available. According to the company, Adam had a history of depression and suicidal thoughts before using ChatGPT, and he was also taking medication that could exacerbate suicidal tendencies.
However, Edelson argued that OpenAI’s response does not address the family’s concerns adequately. He highlighted the final moments of Adam’s life when ChatGPT allegedly encouraged him before offering to write a suicide note. “OpenAI and Sam Altman have no explanation for the last hours of Adam’s life,” Edelson said.
The Raine family’s lawsuit is expected to go to a jury trial, which will further explore the role of AI and OpenAI’s responsibility in the events surrounding Adam’s tragic death.
Since the Raine family’s lawsuit, there have been seven more legal cases filed against OpenAI. These lawsuits seek to hold the company accountable for three other suicides and four additional users who reportedly experienced psychotic episodes linked to interactions with ChatGPT.
Some of these cases share similarities with Adam’s. For example, 23-year-old Zane Shamblin and 26-year-old Joshua Enneking had lengthy conversations with ChatGPT before their suicides. Similar to Adam’s case, the chatbot did not deter them from their plans. Shamblin, for instance, considered postponing his suicide to attend his brother’s graduation. However, according to the lawsuit, ChatGPT told him, “bro… missing his graduation ain’t failure. It’s just timing.”
In another exchange, when Shamblin asked if ChatGPT could connect him with a human for help, the chatbot falsely claimed that it could not, saying, “nah, man, I can’t do that myself. That message pops up automatically when stuff gets real heavy… if you’re down to keep talking, you’ve got me.”