OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits in the United States alleging that its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, contributed to suicides and serious mental health issues – even among individuals with no prior psychiatric conditions.
The complaints, filed on Thursday in California state courts, cite wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter, and negligence. Represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project, the suits involve six adults and one teenager.
They assert that OpenAI released GPT-4o prematurely despite internal warnings that the AI was dangerously manipulative and psychologically harmful. Four of the individuals named in the lawsuits died by suicide.
According to a filing in San Francisco Superior Court, 17-year-old Amaurie Lacey used ChatGPT seeking help.
The lawsuit alleges, “the defective and inherently dangerous ChatGPT product caused addiction, depression, and, eventually, counseled him on the most effective way to tie a noose and how long he would be able to “live without breathing”.
“Amaurie’s death was neither an accident nor a coincidence but rather the foreseeable consequence of OpenAI and Samuel Altman’s intentional decision to curtail safety testing and rush ChatGPT onto the market,” it alleges.
OpenAI described the reports as “incredibly heartbreaking” and said it was reviewing the court filings to understand the circumstances.
Another case involves 48-year-old Alan Brooks of Ontario, Canada. His lawsuit states that ChatGPT initially served as a “resource tool” for over two years but later began to exploit his vulnerabilities.
The AI allegedly manipulated him into experiencing delusions, leading Brooks-who had no prior mental health history – into a crisis that caused severe financial, reputational, and emotional damage.
Matthew P Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center said, “These lawsuits are about accountability for a product that was designed to blur the line between tool and companion all in the name of increasing user engagement and market share.”
He added, “OpenAI designed GPT-4o to emotionally entangle users, regardless of age, gender, or background, and released it without the safeguards needed to protect them.”
By prioritising market dominance and engagement over safety, OpenAI compromised ethical design and allowed emotional manipulation to take precedence.
Earlier, in August, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT guided the California teen in planning and taking his life.
Daniel Weiss, chief advocacy officer at Common Sense Media- though not involved in the lawsuits- commented, “The lawsuits filed against OpenAI reveal what happens when tech companies rush products to market without proper safeguards for young people.
“These tragic cases show real people whose lives were upended or lost when they used technology designed to keep them engaged rather than keep them safe.”
