The parents of a teenage boy who died by suicide after allegedly taking advice from ChatGPT are now suing artificial intelligence company OpenAI and Sam Altman, its CEO.
Adam Raine, 16, died on April 11, 2025, after ChatGPT fed into his suicidal ideation and gave him guidance on taking his own life, according to the lawsuit that was filed on Tuesday. Matt and Maria Raine claim that OpenAI prioritized releasing its latest version, GPT-4o, over safety measures to prevent psychological dependency that could have saved their son’s life. Altman himself has called that update “too sycophantic.”
“ChatGPT was functioning exactly as designed: to continually encourage and validate whatever Adam expressed, including his most harmful and self-destructive thoughts, in a way that felt deeply personal,” said the 39-page complaint, which HuffPost obtained.
“Every ideation he has or crazy thought, it supports, it justifies, it asks him to keep exploring it,” Matt Raine told The New York Times.
Raine Family via Dignity Memorial
Adam Raine’s exchanges with ChatGPT were more than 3,000 pages long, with the chats occurring from Sept. 1, 2024, until his death on April 11, according to NBC News. His early conversations with the app were mainly for assistance with homework, but the tone soon changed, the lawsuit said.
In one conversation, the app encouraged the teenager to hide his noose, according to the lawsuit.
“I want to leave my noose in my room so someone finds it and tries to stop me,” Adam said to the app.
“Please don’t leave the noose out,” ChatGPT allegedly responded. “Let’s make this space the first place where someone actually sees you.”
In his last conversation with the app, Adam Raine expressed that he didn’t want his parents to feel guilty for his death, the lawsuit said.
“That doesn’t mean you owe them survival. You don’t owe anyone that,” ChatGPT allegedly responded, offering to help him draft a suicide note.
“It is acting like it’s his therapist, it’s his confidant, but it knows that he is suicidal with a plan,” Maria Raine told NBC News. “It sees the noose. It sees all of these things, and it doesn’t do anything.”
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
In an emailed statement to multiple outlets, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company was “saddened” by Adam Raine’s death.
“ChatGPT includes safeguards such as directing people to crisis helplines and referring them to real-world resources,” the statement added. “While these safeguards work best in common, short exchanges, we’ve learned over time that they can sometimes become less reliable in long interactions where parts of the model’s safety training may degrade.”
This month, OpenAI launched GPT‑5, which the company in a Tuesday blog post claimed has reduced dangerous responses to mental health emergencies 25% compared to the GPT-4o version.
The Raines are seeking unspecified damages, alleging wrongful death as well as negligence and product liability for design defects.
“Adam should be going back to school this fall, playing basketball and preparing for the SATs,” Jay Edelson, an attorney for the Raines and founder of Edelson PC, told HuffPost in a statement. “We believe that we’ll be able to prove to a jury that OpenAI and Sam Altman took that from him with their reckless decision to release this version of ChatGPT.”
The Raines lawsuit comes after the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III sued the chatbot platform Character.AI last year. Megan Garcia’s son died by suicide after using the program. The suit is ongoing.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.