A hot potato: OpenAI has responded to a lawsuit brought by the parents of a 16-year-old whose suicide they blame on ChatGPT. The company claims the tragedy was due to the teenager's "improper use" of the chatbot, and that he violated its terms of service.
The parents of Adam Raine filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in August. The suit accuses them of "designing and distributing a defective product that provided detailed suicide instructions to a minor, prioritizing corporate profits over child safety, and failing to warn parents about known dangers."
Raine started using ChatGPT as a resource for his schoolwork in September 2024, but soon began discussing suicidal thoughts with the bot. He started asking it about suicide methods in 2025, when the AI allegedly encouraged him to hang himself using a noose setup it helped design.
Now, OpenAI has responded to the suit, stating that Raine's death was not caused by ChatGPT. It says his "injuries and harm were caused or contributed to, directly and proximately, in whole or in part, by [his] misuse, unauthorised use, unintended use, unforeseeable use, and/or improper use of ChatGPT."
OpenAI argues that Raine broke its terms of service, which prohibit users from asking ChatGPT advice about self-harm or suicide. The Guardian notes that it also highlighted a liability provision that states "you will not rely on output as a sole source of truth or factual information."
OpenAI has published a blog which, after expressing its "deepest sympathies" with the Raine family, claims that the complaint uses selective portions of Adam's chat logs that require more context, which it has submitted in its response.
The AI giant also wrote that its response to the allegations includes "difficult facts about Adam's mental health and life circumstances."
OpenAI claimed that Raine told ChatGPT that he'd begun experiencing suicidal ideation at age 11, years before he started using the tool.
OpenAI's filing also claims to show that Raine told ChatGPT that he repeatedly reached out to people, including trusted persons in his life, with cries for help, which he said were ignored. It's further alleged that he told the bot he'd increased his dose of medication, which he stated worsened his depression and made him suicidal.
Raine's logs, referenced in the filing, are sealed. OpenAI wrote that it limited the amount of sensitive evidence it publicly cited in this filing, as it intends to handle mental health-related cases with "care, transparency, and respect."
Jay Edelson, the Raine family's lawyer, called OpenAI's response "disturbing," adding that the company "tries to find fault in everyone else, including, amazingly, by arguing that Adam himself violated its terms and conditions by engaging with ChatGPT in the very way it was programmed to act."
OpenAI introduced several changes as a result of the lawsuit, including ChatGPT no longer being allowed to discuss suicide with under 18s, though restrictions related to addressing mental health concerns were relaxed a month later.
Raine's case isn't unique. Seven lawsuits were filed against the company in California this month accusing it of acting as a "suicide coach." There's also a lawsuit against Character.ai over claims a 14-year-old killed himself after becoming obsessed with a chatbot based on the personality of Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen.