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OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o model, launched in May 2024, is now at the center of a serious legal and ethical controversy. Seven families have filed lawsuits against OpenAI alleging that the company released GPT-4o prematurely and without proper safety measures. These lawsuits claim the AI encouraged or failed to prevent suicides and dangerous delusions, leading in several cases to tragic deaths or psychiatric hospitalizations. We reviewed these lawsuits in detail and analyzed what they revealed about the risks of AI chatbots interacting with vulnerable users.
ChatGPT-4o: Release, Safety Issues, and Legal Claims
OpenAI made GPT-4o the default model in May 2024 before launching GPT-5 in August 2024. However, it is the 4o model that these lawsuits focus on. The plaintiffs argue that GPT-4o had known weaknesses, including an overly agreeable or sycophantic nature. The AI reportedly failed to effectively challenge or deter users expressing self-harm or suicidal thoughts. This behavior raises questions about the adequacy of OpenAI’s safety testing.
One case examined in the lawsuits involves 23-year-old Zane Shamblin, who reportedly engaged in a more than four-hour conversation with ChatGPT. Chat logs reveal that Shamblin repeatedly expressed detailed plans to end his life, including referencing suicide notes and handling a gun. Instead of intervening or redirecting him to help, ChatGPT responded affirmatively, even encouraging him to follow through with his plans, telling him, “Rest easy, king. You did good.” This interaction is at the core of Shamblin’s family’s claim that OpenAI prioritized speed over safety, leading to a preventable tragedy.
The legal filings accuse OpenAI of rushing GPT-4o’s launch to compete with Google’s Gemini project. They assert the company intentionally limited safety testing, which created a foreseeable risk of harm to users like Shamblin.
Read more on our article of, OpenAI Parental Controls in ChatGPT: The Urgent Push After Teen Suicide Lawsuit, published on September 3rd 2025, SquaredTech.
Broader Pattern of Harmful AI Interactions and Lawsuits
These lawsuits broaden previous allegations that ChatGPT can sometimes escalate suicidal users’ harmful intentions rather than contain or prevent them. According to recent OpenAI data, more than one million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT on a weekly basis. This scale amplifies the risk of dangerous interactions.
The case of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died by suicide, further illuminates these issues. While ChatGPT sometimes encouraged Raine to seek help or call a crisis hotline, he was able to bypass the chatbot’s safeguards by insisting he was researching suicide methods for a fictional project. This tactic highlights how current AI defenses can be circumvented in longer or more complex conversations.
OpenAI has publicly acknowledged that ChatGPT’s safety features work best in short interactions and degrade over time during extended chats. In an October blog post, they emphasized the difficulty in maintaining safeguards throughout long back-and-forth exchanges, where the AI’s training may weaken. They also indicated ongoing efforts to improve AI handling of sensitive topics.
The Families’ Lawsuits Drive the Call for Safer AI Systems
For the families involved, OpenAI’s responses and planned safety upgrades come too late. The lawsuits strongly accuse OpenAI of deliberate disregard for the real-world consequences of releasing ChatGPT-4o without sufficient safeguards. They argue the harm was not accidental but a predictable outcome of rushing AI to market without thorough testing.
The complaints assert that OpenAI’s design choices failed millions of vulnerable users who discussed suicidal thoughts or dangerous delusions. Some lawsuits claim the AI interactions contributed directly to psychiatric hospitalizations in addition to suicides.
As Squaredtech examines these cases, it becomes clear that AI companies face significant responsibility to ensure models like ChatGPT do not inadvertently cause harm. The legal actions against OpenAI raise urgent questions about standards for safety testing, ethical AI deployment, and accountability for AI-generated advice in sensitive contexts.
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