OpenAI has formally responded to a death lawsuit filed by Matthew and Maria Raine, parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, arguing that it should not be held liable for the teenager\u2019s death. The filing was reported earlier this week following the family\u2019s August lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman.<\/p>\n
OpenAI says ChatGPT repeatedly urged teen to seek help<\/p>\n
According to OpenAI\u2019s court submission, ChatGPT<\/a> directed Adam to seek help more than 100 times across roughly nine months of use. The company\u2019s position, as reported by NBC News, is that the chatbot consistently attempted to guide the teenager towards support services rather than self-harm.<\/p>\n The Raine family\u2019s lawsuit, however, alleges that Adam managed to bypass safety restrictions. They claim that the chatbot provided \u201ctechnical specifications\u201d for suicide methods including drug overdoses, drowning and carbon monoxide poisoning, and even described the plan as a \u201cbeautiful suicide<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Claims of safety bypass and terms-of-use violations<\/p>\n OpenAI argues that Adam\u2019s actions breached its terms of use, which explicitly prohibit users from attempting to bypass safety features. The company also points to warnings in its FAQ page telling users not to rely on ChatGPT\u2019s responses without independent verification.<\/p>\n OpenAI stated in a blog post<\/a> that it \u201csympathises with the Raine family for their unimaginable loss\u201d, but took a firm stance due to the \u201cspecific and serious allegations\u201d raised. It further claimed the lawsuit presented \u201cselective portions\u201d of chat logs that required fuller context.<\/p>\n Details cited from court filing<\/p>\n The court filing (via Courthouse News) repeated the parents\u2019 allegations that ChatGPT<\/a> supplied detailed suicide methods and labelled the final plan a \u201cbeautiful suicide\u201d. The filing also acknowledges NBC News\u2019 reporting that OpenAI is challenging \u201cthe extent to which any \u2018cause\u2019 can be attributed to this tragic event\u201d.<\/p>\n Family\u2019s legal team accuses OpenAI of dodging accountability<\/p>\n