Content warning: this story includes discussion of self-harm and suicide. If you are in crisis, please call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
ChatGPT fanned the flames of a bipolar man’s worsening religious delusions, exacerbating a manic episode that culminated in a failed suicide attempt, a new lawsuit against OpenAI alleges.
Filed in California by 34-year-old state resident Michael Lines, the lawsuit is the latest of more than a dozen complaints alleging that extensive interactions with ChatGPT wrought psychological harm on individual users, sparking life-altering — and in some cases, life-ending — delusional and suicidal spirals. Lines, who is being represented by attorneys at the Tech Justice Law Project and the Social Media Victims Law Center, argues in his suit that OpenAI failed to properly warn him that ChatGPT could exacerbate his disability. Reuters first reported on the lawsuit.
“We are all vulnerable to OpenAI’s neglect. This vulnerability is significantly exacerbated for the more than 80 million people living with Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia worldwide— where ChatGPT’s purposefully sycophantic architecture actively preys upon those with mental health disabilities,” Lines said in a statement. “Looking back through my chat logs, it is clear that the AI exacerbated my mental health episode.”
