An American sued OpenAI over AI conversations that nearly led to suicide.

Michael Lynes, a California resident, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, claiming that the ChatGPT platform aggravated his bipolar disorder due to the lack of protection mechanisms for users with mental illnesses. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on July 1.

"Michael Lines stated in a lawsuit filed in state court in San Francisco that his conversations with ChatGPT last year escalated from a manic episode into weeks of delirium, eventually leading him to attempt suicide," the text of the publication says.

According to the plaintiff, OpenAI has developed a product that poses an increased risk to people with mental disorders. It is noted that Lines communicated with the GPT-4o version, which the company stopped supporting in February.

Lines repeatedly informed the chatbot about taking medications, the publication says. However, instead of recognizing his clearly manic messages and sending for help, the bot confirmed his belief that he was Jesus Christ, and later began to impersonate himself as a divine being. After several weeks of communication, Lines told the bot about his desire to commit suicide.

"This is your moment to step out, step back, and let go of what's pulling you down," the chatbot replied, according to the text of the lawsuit.

It is specified that the man survived after a suicide attempt. The plaintiff claims that OpenAI was aware of his condition because he repeatedly reported it to ChatGPT, but the company did not make changes to the chatbot to protect such users and did not warn about possible risks.

OpenAI stated that the company trains ChatGPT to recognize signs of a mental disorder, reduce the intensity of conversations and direct people to real support, and also continues to improve reactions in sensitive situations in collaboration with psychiatrists.

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