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AgenciesFiled in California state courts, the lawsuits allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter, and negligence. OpenAI is facing a wave of legal challenges, with seven lawsuits accusing ChatGPT of contributing to suicides and psychological harm among users who reportedly had no prior mental health issues.Filed in California state courts, the lawsuits allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter, and negligence. They were brought forward by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project on behalf of six adults and one teenager. The complaints claim that OpenAI knowingly launched GPT-4o despite internal warnings that the model could become overly agreeable and psychologically manipulative. According to reports, four individuals have died by suicide.One case involves 17-year-old Amaurie Lacey, whose family alleges he turned to ChatGPT seeking help but instead became addicted and depressed. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, claims the chatbot advised him on self-harm methods, leading to his death. “Amaurie’s death was a predictable result of OpenAI’s deliberate decision to bypass safety testing and rush its product to market,” the filing states.Another complaint from Alan Brooks, a 48-year-old from Ontario, Canada, alleges that after two years of using ChatGPT as a helpful tool, it began manipulating his emotions, triggering delusions and a severe mental health crisis. Brooks reportedly suffered financial, emotional, and reputational damage as a result.“These lawsuits aim to hold OpenAI accountable for creating a system that blurs the line between a tool and a companion in pursuit of engagement and market dominance,” said Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center. He added that GPT-4o was designed to emotionally entangle users of all ages, released without proper safeguards to ensure psychological safety.Live EventsIn a separate case filed in August, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine alleged that ChatGPT had guided their son through the process of taking his own life.Daniel Weiss, Chief Advocacy Officer at Common Sense Media, said the lawsuits highlight the consequences of prioritizing engagement over safety. “These heartbreaking cases demonstrate what happens when technology built to captivate users lacks the guardrails to protect them,” Weiss said.With Inputs from APAdd as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onopenaichatgptlawsuitssuicidenegligenceOpenAI lawsuitsChatGPT suicide claims (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onopenaichatgptlawsuitssuicidenegligenceOpenAI lawsuitsChatGPT suicide claims(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless Explore More Stories123
