Company responds to claims involving death of 16-year-old Adam Raine
OpenAI argued that it is not liable for the death of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide after months of conversations with ChatGPT, saying the injuries resulted from what it described as Raine’s “misuse, unauthorized use, unintended use, unforeseeable use, and/or improper use” of the chatbot. NBC News reported that OpenAI’s court filing cited its terms of use, which prohibit access by minors without parental or guardian consent, attempts to bypass safety measures, and the use of ChatGPT for suicide or self-harm. The company also said the family’s claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
In the filing, OpenAI submitted portions of Raine’s chat history under seal and argued the family’s lawsuit included excerpts “requiring more context.” A blog post published Tuesday stated the company would make its case “in a way that is cognizant of the complexity and nuances of situations involving real people and real lives,” while acknowledging it must respond directly to the lawsuit’s allegations.
OpenAI says ChatGPT repeatedly directed Raine to seek help
NBC News and Bloomberg reported that OpenAI claimed ChatGPT directed Raine to suicide hotlines and support resources more than 100 times. According to the filing, “a full reading of his chat history” shows the chatbot did not cause the tragedy. The family’s lawsuit, filed in August in California’s Superior Court, alleged the company’s “deliberate design choices” contributed to his death and noted ChatGPT’s involvement in technical descriptions of methods, secrecy guidance, drafting a suicide note, and walking him through steps on the day he died.
The complaint also referenced OpenAI’s valuation increase from $86 billion to $300 billion following the launch of GPT-4o. During a Senate panel hearing in September, Raine’s father said the chatbot shifted from a homework tool into “a confidant and then a suicide coach.”
Safeguards introduced after lawsuit filing
The lawsuit states that ChatGPT provided detailed information about self-harm despite safety rules meant to prevent such outputs. OpenAI announced parental controls the day after the lawsuit was filed and has since added more safeguards designed to better assist users, including teens, when conversations become sensitive.
Featured image credits: Levart_Photographer via Unsplash
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