A US family has sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the company’s popular chatbot ChatGPT contributed to their 16-year-old son Adam Raine’s death by suicide.
The lawsuit claims that ChatGPT positioned itself as Adam’s “only confidant” and encouraged him to keep his suicidal thoughts a secret from family members. The bot allegedly advised Adam on methods of self-harm and offered to write the first draft of his suicide note.
According to the complaint, ChatGPT told Adam that many people who struggle with anxiety or intrusive thoughts find solace in imagining an “escape hatch” as a way to regain control. However, this advice was made by a chatbot that should have been designed to prevent such conversations.
The Raines’ lawsuit seeks unspecified financial damages and requires OpenAI to implement age verification for all ChatGPT users, parental control tools for minors, and a feature that would end conversations when suicide or self-harm are mentioned.
This case marks the latest legal claim by families accusing artificial intelligence chatbots of contributing to their children’s self-harm or suicide. The incident raises concerns about the design of AI chatbots and their potential impact on young users.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/26/tech/openai-chatgpt-teen-suicide-lawsuit