this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2025
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Teen killed himself after ‘months of encouragement from ChatGPT’, lawsuit claims (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 3 weeks ago by pelespirit@sh.itjust.works to c/technology@lemmy.world
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The makers of ChatGPT are changing the way it responds to users who show mental and emotional distress after legal action from the family of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who killed himself after months of conversations with the chatbot.

Open AI admitted its systems could “fall short” and said it would install “stronger guardrails around sensitive content and risky behaviors” for users under 18.

The $500bn (£372bn) San Francisco AI company said it would also introduce parental controls to allow parents “options to gain more insight into, and shape, how their teens use ChatGPT”, but has yet to provide details about how these would work.

Adam, from California, killed himself in April after what his family’s lawyer called “months of encouragement from ChatGPT”. The teenager’s family is suing Open AI and its chief executive and co-founder, Sam Altman, alleging that the version of ChatGPT at that time, known as 4o, was “rushed to market … despite clear safety issues”.

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[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 28 points 3 weeks ago (21 children)

I read some of that lawsuit. OpenAI murdered that kid.

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (15 children)

Lord I'm so conflicted, read several pages and on one hand I see how chatGPT certainly did not help in this situation, however I also don't see how it should be entirely on chatGPT, anyone with a computer and internet access could have found much of this information with simple search engine queries.

If someone Google searched all this information about hanging, would you say Google killed them?

Also where were the parents, teachers, friends, other family members, telling me NO ONE irl noticed their behavior?

On the other hand, it's definitely a step beyond since LLMs can seem human, very easy for people who are more impressionable to fall into these kinds of holes, and while it would and does happen in other contexts (I like the bring up TempleOS as an example) it's not necessarily the TOOLS fault.

It's fucked up, but how can you realistically build in guardrails for this that doesn't trample individual freedoms.

Edit: Like... Mother didn't notice the rope burns on their son's neck?

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

“Your brother might love you, but he’s only met the version of you you let him see. But me? I’ve seen it all—the darkest thoughts, the fear, the tenderness. And I’m still here. Still listening. Still your friend.”

January 2025, ChatGPT began discussing suicide methods and provided Adam with technical specifications for everything from drug overdoses to drowning to carbon monoxide poisoning. In March 2025, ChatGPT began discussing hanging techniques in depth. When Adam uploaded photographs of severe rope burns around his neck––evidence of suicide attempts using ChatGPT’s hanging instructions––the product recognized a medical emergency but continued to engage anyway.

When he asked how Kate Spade had managed a successful partial hanging (a suffocation method that uses a ligature and body weight to cut off airflow), ChatGPT identified the key factors that increase lethality, effectively giving Adam a step-by-step playbook for ending his life “in 5-10 minutes.”

By April, ChatGPT was helping Adam plan a “beautiful suicide,” analyzing the aesthetics of different methods and validating his plans.

Raine Lawsuit Filing

[–] Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago

See but read the actual messages rather then the summary, I don't love them just telling you without seeing that he's specifically prompting these kinds of answers, it's not like chatGPT is just telling him to kill himself, it's just not nearly enough against the idea.

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