The makers of ChatGPT are changing the way it responds to users who show mental and emotional distress after legal action from the family of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who killed himself after months of conversations with the chatbot.
Open AI admitted its systems could “fall short” and said it would install “stronger guardrails around sensitive content and risky behaviors” for users under 18.
The $500bn (£372bn) San Francisco AI company said it would also introduce parental controls to allow parents “options to gain more insight into, and shape, how their teens use ChatGPT”, but has yet to provide details about how these would work.
Adam, from California, killed himself in April after what his family’s lawyer called “months of encouragement from ChatGPT”. The teenager’s family is suing Open AI and its chief executive and co-founder, Sam Altman, alleging that the version of ChatGPT at that time, known as 4o, was “rushed to market … despite clear safety issues”.
I parented a teen boy. Sometimes, no matter what you do and no matter how close you were before puberty, a switch flips outside your control and they won’t talk to you anymore. We were a typical family, no abuse, no fighting, nobody on drugs, both parents with 9-5 office jobs, very engaged with school and etc.
Thankfully, after riding it out (getting him therapy, giving space, respect, and support), he came out the other side fine. But there were a few harrowing years during that phase.
I went through a similar phase in my teens. If AI was there to feed my issues, I might not have survived it. Teenage hormones are a helluva drug.