Openai Says Teen's 'misuse' Of Chatgpt Is To Blame For His Suicide,...

The lawyer presenting Adam Raine's family calls the response "disturbing" and I have to agree.

Content warning: This article includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is available from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US), Crisis Services Canada (CA), Samaritans (UK), Lifeline (AUS), and other hotlines.

Three months after being sued by the parents of a teenager whose suicide was allegedly encouraged and instructed by ChatGPT, a report by The Guardian says OpenAI has filed a response pinning the blame on the teen's "improper use" of the chatbot.

The lawsuit filed by the parents of Adam Raine, who died in April at the age of 16, claims the teen began using ChatGPT in September 2024, but by late fall of that year told it he'd been having suicidal thoughts. Instead of raising the alarm, however, the software told him his thoughts were valid; in early 2025, the suit claims, it began providing him information on different methods of suicide, which eventually narrowed down to specific instructions and ultimately, his death. By any measure, the allegations are horrific.

OpenAI's response to the lawsuit, according to the Guardian report, is no better. It says ChatGPT was not the cause of Raine's suicide, calling it a "tragic event" but claiming that Raine's "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."

As unbelievable as it is that OpenAI would base any part of its defense in a case like this on "he broke the TOS," that is in fact the case. Washington Post tech reporter Gerrit De Vynck shared images taken from the company's filing on Bluesky that relates the same point, including one that states "The TOU provides that ChatGPT users must comply with OpenAI's Usage Policies, which prohibit the use of ChatGPT for 'suicide' or 'self-harm'."

Additionally, OpenAI argues its not liable because Raine, by using ChatGPT for self-harm, broke its terms of service

OpenAI also denied responsibility because Raine allegedly had suicidal thoughts prior to using ChatGPT, and had sought information on suicide from other sources. Raine also told ChatGPT he had "repeatedly reached out to people, including trusted persons in his life, with cries for help, which he said were ignored," the filing states.

OpenAI has also put up a new blog post in which it expresses its "d

Source: PC Gamer