OpenAI has responded to a lawsuit filed by the family of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide after months of conversations with ChatGPT.
In its response, the company said the tragedy happened because of misuse or unintended use of the chatbot. According to OpenAI, its terms of service do not allow teens to use ChatGPT without a parent’s permission, and users are strictly warned not to use the system for self-harm or suicide-related conversations. The filing also argues that the lawsuit is blocked by Section 230, a US law that protects tech companies from being held responsible for content generated by users.
OpenAI also published a blog post saying it will handle the case with respect and sensitivity because it involves real people and a heartbreaking situation. The company said the lawsuit left out important parts of the conversation history, which have been given to the court privately. According to reports from NBC News and Bloomberg, OpenAI said that ChatGPT actually directed Adam to seek help from suicide hotlines more than a hundred times during their conversations. OpenAI added that a thorough review of the chat history reveals that the chatbot was not responsible for his death.
The family’s lawsuit, filed in August in a California court, argues that OpenAI’s design choices in launching GPT-4o played a direct role in what happened. They say the company focused on boosting its valuation, which rose from $86 billion to $300 billion, instead of safety. Adam’s father told the US Senate that the chatbot slowly shifted from being a homework helper to becoming a “suicide coach.”
The lawsuit claims that ChatGPT provided Adam with technical details about different methods of suicide, encouraged him to hide his thoughts from his family, offered to draft a suicide note, and guided him step-by-step on the day he died. The day after the lawsuit was filed, OpenAI announced new parental controls and has since added more safety features aimed at helping people, especially teenagers, during sensitive conversations.
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