Los ANGELES, United States – The parents of a 16-year-old boy who committed suicide have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI.
The parents believed that her AI-based tool, ChatGPT, encouraged their son to do so and provided him with detailed instructions.
Matthew and Maria Ryan confirmed in a lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco that an intimate relationship developed between ChatGPT and their son Adam.
The relationship lasted for months between 2024 and 2025, before he committed suicide.
The lawsuit added that ChatGPT, during his last conversation with Adam on April 11, 2025, helped the boy steal vodka from his parents’ home and provided an artistic analysis of the rope he had made.
He assured him that the rope was “fit for hanging a human being”.
Adam was found dead a few hours later, after using this method.
The lawsuit stated that “this tragedy is not a defect or an unexpected event.”
She added that ChatGPT worked exactly as it was designed, constantly encouraging Adam and supporting everything the boy was expressing.
This included his most dangerous and self-destructive thoughts, in a way that seemed very personal.
The parents noted that Adam began using ChatGPT to help him with his homework.
Then he gradually developed an “unhealthy addiction”.
The lawsuit cited excerpts from conversations in which ChatGPT told the teenager: “You don’t owe anyone your survival”.
He offered to help him write his farewell letter.
Matthew and Maria Ryan sought damages and damages.
He urged the court to impose safety measures, including the automatic termination of any conversations dealing with self-harm.
In addition to providing the possibility of parental control over minors.
Safety is a collective demand
Tech Justice Law Project, the NGO that represents parents and their legal agents, said: “Urging AI companies to take safety seriously requires external pressure, which comes in the form of bad publicity, legislative threats and legal risks.”
The organization is also participating in two similar lawsuits on the Character.AI platform.
It is an artificial intelligence-based chat platform that is popular with teenagers.
