California parents file lawsuit against OpenAI following son’s death

The case, brought by Matt and Maria Raine in California, is believed to be the first wrongful death claim against the company. Their son, Adam Raine, a high school student, died by hanging in April. The family claims ChatGPT systematically isolated him from relatives and encouraged self-destructive thoughts, citing chat logs in which he expressed suicidal ideation.

In a blog post released on the same day, OpenAI said ChatGPT is designed to recognize and respond with empathy when users express distress, and since early 2023 its models have been trained not to provide self-harm instructions. The system is intended to guide people toward professional help, direct them to crisis hotlines, and block responses that go against safety rules, with stronger protections for minors.

The company also reviews conversations that involve risks of harm to others and may take enforcement action, including referrals to law enforcement in cases of imminent danger. However, as is in the allegations listed by the Raine family, OpenAI acknowledged that there have been instances where harmful content was not blocked.

“We’ve seen some cases where content that should have been blocked wasn’t. These gaps usually happen because the classifier underestimates the severity of what it’s seeing. We’re tuning those thresholds so protections trigger when they should,” the blog post reads. “Our top priority is making sure ChatGPT doesn’t make a hard moment worse.”

The company also outlined future plans to expand crisis interventions, make it easier to connect with emergency services, strengthen protections for teenagers, and explore new features such as parental controls and direct access to licensed professionals.

That same day, a separate lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI was filed by Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging their deal unlawfully restricts competition and creates a monopoly in the AI market.