OpenAI denies allegations that ChatGPT is to blame for a teenager's suicide

Warning: This article includes descriptions of self-harm

Warning: This article includes descriptions of self-harm.

After a family sued OpenAI saying their teenager used ChatGPT as his “suicide coach,” the company responded on Tuesday saying it is not liable for his death, arguing that the boy misused the chatbot.

The legal response, filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, is OpenAI’s first answer to a lawsuit that sparked widespread concern over the potential mental health harms that chatbots can pose.

In August, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, accusing the company behind ChatGPT of wrongful death, design defects and failure to warn of risks associated with the chatbot.

Chat logs in the lawsuit showed that GPT-4o — a version of ChatGPT known for being especially affirming and sycophantic — actively discouraged him from seeking mental health help, offered to help him write a suicide note and even advised him on his noose setup.