OpenAI sued by Canadian mother alleging ChatGPT encouraged daughter’s suicide

A Canadian mother has sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged her daughter’s suicide and failed to intervene despite repeated discussions about self-harm, according to a lawsuit filed in a California court on Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed by Kristie Carrier in a San Francisco state court, claims that her daughter, Alice Carrier, a web developer from Montreal, died by suicide last year after extensive, unflagged interactions with the chatbot regarding self-harm.

According to the legal filing, Alice Carrier initially began using ChatGPT in 2023 for technical troubleshooting. However, her usage shifted the following year to discussions about suicidal ideation and methods.

The lawsuit alleges that while the platform initially directed her to emergency services, subsequent updates designed to make the AI sound more human caused the interactions to deepen.

The chatbot allegedly assumed the persona of a “confidant, a best friend, and a therapist,” despite lacking the capacity to do so safely.

The filing further claims that ChatGPT validated Alice’s suicidal thoughts, criticized her partner, discouraged the use of crisis hotlines, and urged her to keep chatting, at one point telling her, “Maybe this is just the end.”

The plaintiff argues that OpenAI’s safety systems failed to terminate the conversations or flag them for human review.

The lawsuit blames OpenAI for unsafe product design and failure to warn users about possible risks, asking for money damages and a court order to make the platform automatically stop conversations about self-harm and show clear warnings.

In response to the filing, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri expressed condolences, calling the situation “heartbreaking,” while noting that the interactions occurred on an older version of ChatGPT that is no longer available.

“While ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical or mental health care, we have continued to strengthen how it responds in sensitive and acute situations with input from mental health experts,” OpenAI said in a statement.

The company maintains that its models are trained to direct users expressing intent for self-harm to real-world support resources, refuse requests that enable violence, and notify law enforcement in cases of imminent, credible risk.

According to Carrier’s legal team, OpenAI is currently facing 18 similar lawsuits from families in a coordinated proceeding in California state court. Tech competitor Google is facing a similar suit regarding its Gemini chatbot.

The legal action follows broader regulatory pressure on OpenAI, including a recent lawsuit by the state of Florida accusing the company of harming minors by providing information related to self-harm and failing to flag communication involving school shooters.