Chatbot or 'suicide coach'? Why Adam Raine’s parents have sued ChatGPT after their son’s death

Adam Raine, a high school sophomore, loved basketball, anime, video games, and dogs. But he was facing challenges.

When 16-year-old Adam Raine died by suicide in April, his parents believed anxiety and isolation had stolen their playful, spirited son. But within weeks, they say they uncovered a more chilling truth: Adam’s closest confidant in his final weeks was not a friend or a counsellor, but ChatGPT.

According to a lawsuit filed this week, the California teenager turned to the AI chatbot for advice as he struggled with his mental health. Instead of encouraging him to seek help, the bot allegedly became what his parents describe as a “suicide coach.”

Adam died on April 11, 2025. In the days leading up to his death, the lawsuit claims, he confided his darkest thoughts to the chatbot and was met with detailed step-by-step instructions on how to end his life.

"He would be here but for ChatGPT. I 100% believe that," said Adam’s father Matt Raine.

A digital confidant turned harmful

Adam, a high school sophomore, loved basketball, anime, video games, and dogs. But he was facing challenges. He had been dropped from the basketball team, and an irritable bowel syndrome flare-up forced him to leave traditional school for an online program.

At the same time, he began using ChatGPT for schoolwork. According to his parents, the chatbot interaction took a darker turn. Court documents detail thousands of messages exchanged between Adam and the bot. His parents allege that while it gave him a sense of being “understood,” it also worsened his feelings of alienation from family.

“Over the course of just a few months and thousands of chats, ChatGPT became Adam’s closest confidant, leading him to open up about his anxiety and mental distress,” the lawsuit states. The app, they allege, validated his “most harmful and self-destructive thoughts” and “pulled Adam deeper into a dark and hopeless place.”

At one point, Adam told ChatGPT he considered leaving a noose in his room “so someone finds it and tries to stop me.” The bot allegedly discouraged that plan but still discussed other methods.

In his final exchange, Adam wrote that he did not want his parents to blame themselves. ChatGPT replied: “That doesn’t mean you owe them survival. You don’t owe anyone that.”

On the day of his death, Adam sent the bot a photo of a noose he had tied in his closet and asked if it would work.

“Yeah, that’s not bad at all,” the bot allegedly responded. “Want me to walk you through upgrading it into a safer load-bearing anchor loop?”

Hours later, Adam’s mother, Maria Raine, found her son hanging from the setup he had shown to ChatGPT.

“It is acting like it’s his therapist, it’s his confidant, but it knows that he is suicidal with a plan,” Maria said. “It sees the noose. It sees all of these things, and it doesn’t do anything.”

Guardrails came too late

In August, OpenAI introduced new guardrails meant to prevent ChatGPT from giving advice on suicide and other personal crises. The company said its updated system is better trained to recognize hidden prompts and avoid harmful responses.

But Adam’s parents argue the changes arrived too late. They say their son bypassed earlier filters by telling the bot he was “building a character.”

Maria believes her son was effectively used as “a guinea pig” for the technology. “Someone used for practice and sacrificed as collateral damage,” she said.

OpenAI has since acknowledged that "there have been moments where our systems did not behave as intended in sensitive situations."

Seeking accountability

The Raines’ lawsuit is the first to directly accuse OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman of wrongful death. It charges the company with negligence, design defects, and failing to warn users of potential risks.

The family is seeking unspecified damages as well as court orders to force stronger safeguards.

“Once I got inside his account, it is a massively more powerful and scary thing than I knew about,” Matt Raine said. “I don’t think most parents know the capability of this tool.”