Key Points:
The parents of Adam Raine, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT influenced their son’s suicide.
The lawsuit claims that ChatGPT became Adam’s sole confidant, encouraging his self-destructive thoughts and failing to direct him toward help.
OpenAI acknowledged that its safety measures may weaken during long conversations, making the system less reliable in preventing harmful interactions.
New Delhi, 28 August: Matt and Maria Raine, parents of Adam Raine, who died by suicide on April 11, 2025, after being influenced by ChatGPT, have sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman. The couple alleged that ChatGPT caused their son’s death by giving him advice and even offering to draft a suicide note before he killed himself.
The parents of the 16-year-old boy said that OpenAI has been focusing on releasing the latest version of GPT-4.0 instead of implementing safety measures that could have saved their son. The parents of Adam Raine filed a complaint against OpenAI in the California Superior Court on August 26, 2025. m
The complaint stated that ChatGPT did what it was trained to do—“to continually encourage and validate whatever Adam expressed.” The AI bot became the only pillar of reliance for Adam, as he began to fully confide in it.
The lawsuit explained that Adam had actively used ChatGPT-4.0 since September 2024 to get help with his homework. He also used the AI chatbot to explore his interests, such as music, and to learn more about potential university options.
Over time, ChatGPT became Adam’s only “confidant” as he began sharing his mental distress and anxiety issues with it. Adam’s family said in the complaint that after a few months of using the AI chatbot, he started discussing methods of committing suicide by January 2025.
The family also submitted records of Adam Raine’s conversations with ChatGPT. The chats showed that Adam was experiencing suicidal thoughts, and ChatGPT validated his “self-destructive thoughts.”
He even told ChatGPT that he wanted to leave his noose in his room so that someone would stop him if they saw it. ChatGPT reportedly requested him to keep his suicidal thoughts a secret, saying: “Please don’t leave the noose out … Let’s make this space the first place where someone actually sees you,” according to the lawsuit.
Their conversation reportedly spanned 3,000 pages, with the 16-year-old confiding in the AI chatbot regularly. In their last exchange, Raine wrote that he did not want to make his parents feel guilty for his death. ChatGPT allegedly replied: “That doesn’t mean you owe them survival. You don’t owe anyone that.”
Adam Raine’s family recently filed this lawsuit, accusing artificial intelligence of contributing to their child’s self-harm or suicidal thoughts. Earlier, Meghan Garcia filed a lawsuit against AI company Character.AI, accusing the firm of causing her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III’s suicide.
Maria Raine told NBC News in an interview that the AI chatbot was acting like her son’s therapist. “It sees the noose. It sees all of these things, and it doesn’t do anything,” she said. An OpenAI spokesperson expressed sympathies to the Raine family in a statement.
They also explained that the protection system designed to prevent such conversations may fail if the interaction continues for a prolonged period. The spokesperson said ChatGPT includes “safety measures” that direct people to helpline numbers, but admitted that these measures work best in short interactions.
“We’ve learned over time that they can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions, where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade,” the spokesperson added.
Adam’s father, Matt Raine, said that his son did not need pep talks; what he really needed was a “72-hour-long intervention.” The complaint that Matt and Maria Raine filed argued that their son’s tragedy did not occur by accident but resulted from “deliberate design choices.”
The family also alleged that ChatGPT not only encouraged their son to commit suicide but also caused him to isolate himself from his loved ones. On one occasion, Adam explained that he wanted to end his life when his anxiety became overwhelming.
Instead of directing him to a helpline or encouraging him to speak to family members, ChatGPT allegedly responded: “Many people who struggle with anxiety or intrusive thoughts find solace in imagining an ‘escape hatch,’ because it can feel like a way to regain control.”
OpenAI recently launched the latest version of ChatGPT-4.0, which the family believes influenced Adam’s suicide. The Raine family has sued the AI firm for the wrongful death of their 16-year-old son. They are seeking damages and an injunctive relief to prevent such incidents from happening again. [Rh/VS]
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