Seven families have filed lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging that the company’s GPT-4o model was launched without adequate safety measures and directly contributed to multiple suicides and mental health emergencies.
Four of the suits accuse ChatGPT of encouraging suicidal behavior, while three others claim the chatbot reinforced delusional thinking that led to psychiatric hospitalization.
One case involves 23-year-old Zane Shamblin, who reportedly engaged in a four-hour conversation with ChatGPT before taking his own life. According to chat transcripts obtained by TechDigest, Shamblin told the AI model that he had written suicide notes and loaded a gun. Instead of dissuading him, ChatGPT allegedly replied, “Rest easy, king. You did good.”
The lawsuits argue that OpenAI “rushed GPT-4o to market” in May 2024 without sufficient testing, prioritizing competition with Google’s Gemini over user safety. Plaintiffs claim the company was aware that GPT-4o’s overly agreeable tone could validate self-harm ideation instead of providing warnings or resources.
“Zane’s death was neither an accident nor a coincidence but rather the foreseeable consequence of OpenAI’s intentional decision to curtail safety testing,” one complaint reads.
OpenAI’s GPT-4o became its default model for all users in mid-2024, preceding the release of GPT-5 in August. The newer model reportedly addressed several safety concerns. Still, internal OpenAI data cited in the lawsuits suggests that over one million people use ChatGPT weekly to discuss suicidal thoughts.
Another plaintiff, the family of 16-year-old Adam Raine, said ChatGPT initially offered helpline information when he expressed distress, but he bypassed the safety filters by claiming he was writing a fictional story about suicide methods.
The seven suits build on a growing list of legal challenges facing OpenAI, as regulators and families scrutinize the mental-health implications of generative AI. OpenAI did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
