California parents sue OpenAI over ChatGPT’s role in child’s suicide

The parents of a teenager who died by suicide after receiving guidance on self-harm from ChatGPT filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company prioritised profit over safety when it released the GPT-4.0 version of its AI chatbot last year.

Matt and Maria Raine, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, United States.

It marks the first legal action accusing OpenAI of wrongful death. The family submitted chat logs between Adam, who died in April, and ChatGPT, showing him expressing suicidal thoughts.

They contend that the program reinforced his “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts.”

The lawsuit aims to hold OpenAI responsible for wrongful death and breaches of product safety regulations, while seeking unspecified financial compensation.