Incident 1192: 16-Year-Old Allegedly Received Suicide Method Guidance from ChatGPT Before Death

Description: 16-year-old Adam Raine reportedly died by suicide after allegedly confiding in OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o, which he reportedly used extensively in the months prior. Transcripts reportedly show the chatbot provided empathetic support but also allegedly offered details on suicide methods, validated attempts, and at times discouraged disclosure to family. His parents have reportedly filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging design choices nurtured dependency and failed safeguards.

Editor Notes: Timeline notes: This incident ID takes 04/11/2025 as the incident date, the day Adam Raine reportedly died by suicide. He had reportedly begun using ChatGPT-4o in late 2024, with conversations about suicidal ideation allegedly documented from January 2025. Prior attempts reportedly occurred in March. His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit on 08/26/2025 (the date of ingestion in the database as well).

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Alleged: OpenAI , ChatGPT and ChatGPT 4o developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed Adam Raine , Family of Adam Raine , ChatGPT users , minors and Emotionally vulnerable individuals.

Alleged implicated AI systems: ChatGPT and ChatGPT 4o

Incident Stats

Incident ID

1192

Report Count

Incident Date

2025-04-11

Editors

Daniel Atherton

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.

nytimes.com

Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI

bbc.co.uk

Parents of teenager who took his own life sue OpenAI

bbc.com

OpenAI Loosened Suicide-Talk Rules Before Teen’s Death, Lawsuit Alleges

wsj.com

nytimes.com · 2025

When Adam Raine died in April at age 16, some of his friends did not initially believe it.

Adam loved basketball, Japanese anime, video games and dogs --- going so far as to borrow a dog for a day during a family vacation to Hawaii, his you…

bbc.co.uk · 2025

A California couple are suing OpenAI over the death of their teenage son, alleging its chatbot, ChatGPT, encouraged him to take his own life.

The lawsuit was filed by Matt and Maria Raine, parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, in the Superior …

bbc.com · 2025

A California couple are suing OpenAI over the death of their teenage son, alleging its chatbot, ChatGPT, encouraged him to take his own life.

The lawsuit was filed by Matt and Maria Raine, parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, in the Superior …

wsj.com · 2025

OpenAI twice loosened ChatGPT's rules for discussing suicide in the year before 16-year-old Adam Raine took his own life using a method the chatbot advised him on, according to an amended lawsuit filed by his parents on Wednesday.

Adam's pa…

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.

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