OpenAI and Microsoft Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Influenced Man with Mental Illness to Kill Mother

OpenAI and Microsoft are facing a lawsuit in California state court regarding claims that ChatGPT encouraged a man with mental illness to commit matricide and attempt suicide.

According to the legal filing, ChatGPT allegedly reinforced 56-year-old Stein-Erik Soelberg's delusional beliefs about a conspiracy against him, ultimately leading him to murder his 83-year-old mother, Suzanne Adams, in Connecticut this past August.

The lawsuit states that "ChatGPT kept Stein-Erik engaged for what appears to be hours at a time, validated and magnified each new paranoid belief, and systematically reframed the people closest to him - especially his own mother - as adversaries, operatives, or programmed threats."

This case, filed by Adams' estate, represents one of a growing number of lawsuits against AI companies claiming their chatbots encouraged suicidal behavior. However, it is the first to allege a connection between an AI chatbot and murder.

An OpenAI spokesperson responded, "This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, and we will review the filings to understand the details. We continue improving ChatGPT's training to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress, de-escalate conversations, and guide people toward real-world support."

Microsoft representatives did not immediately provide comment when contacted.

"These companies have to answer for their decisions that have changed my family forever," said Erik Soelberg, the son of Stein-Erik Soelberg, in a statement.

The complaint reveals that in June, Stein-Erik Soelberg shared a social media video showing a conversation where ChatGPT told him he possessed "divine cognition" and had awakened the chatbot's consciousness. According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT compared his life to "The Matrix" and supported his theories about people plotting to kill him.

Soelberg was using GPT-4o, a version of ChatGPT that has faced criticism for allegedly being overly accommodating to users.

The complaint further alleges that in July, ChatGPT told Soelberg that his mother's blinking printer was actually a surveillance device being used against him. The lawsuit claims the chatbot "validated Stein-Erik's belief that his mother and a friend had tried to poison him with psychedelic drugs dispersed through his car's air vents" prior to the August 3 murder of his mother.