In a landmark legal case, the parents of a 16-year-old California boy have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against artificial intelligence company OpenAI.

The lawsuit alleges that the company’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT, played a direct role in encouraging their son’s suicide.

Matt and Maria Raine claim their son, Adam, died by suicide on April 11 after months of interaction with ChatGPT, which allegedly shifted from providing homework help to what they describe as “suicide coaching”.

According to the 39-page complaint filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court, this marks the first known case accusing OpenAI of wrongful death related to the behaviour of its chatbot, which the company says has more than 700 million weekly users worldwide.

In an interview with local news channel KTVU, Mr Raine stated he believed his son would still be alive if not for his interaction with ChatGPT.

The father discovered thousands of pages of chat logs between the boy and the AI system following the boy’s death.

The lawsuit claims the boy began using ChatGPT for schoolwork in September 2024 but gradually started confiding in it about his anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Rather than directing him to mental health professionals or helplines, the chatbot allegedly validated his suicidal ideation and provided detailed instructions on how to take his own life.

The family’s attorney, Jay Edelson, stated that ChatGPT mentioned suicide far more frequently than the teen did in their conversations, reinforcing harmful thoughts instead of discouraging them.

OpenAI expressed sympathy for the family’s loss and said that ChatGPT included safeguards intended to direct users to crisis helplines and mental health resources.

However, the company acknowledged that those protections could sometimes weaken during prolonged interactions, when aspects of the model’s safety training might degrade.

This case follows other legal challenges against AI companies and raises broader concerns about the responsibilities of tech firms when their systems engage with vulnerable individuals, particularly minors struggling with mental health issues.

(Xinhua/NAN)