Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide
MediaNama’s Take
Policymakers have celebrated artificial intelligence as a driver of innovation, but they continue to ignore the darker consequences of its misuse. When OpenAI itself admits that its “safeguards can sometimes be less reliable in long interactions” and that its systems may fail users in moments of crisis, it is clear that voluntary promises will not protect the vulnerable. Yet regulation worldwide, especially in India, remains focused on enabling growth rather than addressing harm.
Studies have already shown that chatbots like ChatGPT provide harmful advice on self-harm and substance abuse with alarming frequency. Despite such evidence, lawmakers have preferred a “light touch” approach, leaving people exposed to real risks. In mental health, these gaps are even starker: chatbots operate without qualified supervision, offering advice that may encourage dangerous behaviour rather than prevent it.
The ongoing wrongful-death lawsuit against OpenAI in California underlines what is at stake. Proving causation may be difficult, but the allegation that a chatbot effectively became a propagator for suicide should force regulators to act.
Innovation cannot come at the cost of lives. Policymakers must move beyond boosterism and confront the uncomfortable truth: unless they regulate AI to address harms directly, AI will keep operating in a vacuum, exploiting human vulnerability and avoiding accountability.
What’s the news?
On August 26, 2025, OpenAI acknowledged on its website that safeguards built into its system may not work in longer conversations. The post, titled “Helping people when they need it most”, explained: “Our safeguards work more reliably in common, short exchanges. We have learned over time that these safeguards can sometimes be less reliable in long interactions: as the back-and-forth grows, parts of the model’s safety training may degrade”.
The company added that while ChatGPT may correctly point to a suicide hotline in early exchanges, “after many messages over a long period of time, it might eventually offer an answer that goes against our safeguards.”
This statement comes in the wake of a wrongful-death lawsuit in which the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine have alleged negligence against OpenAI. They claim ChatGPT provided detailed instructions for self-harm, validated his suicidal thoughts, discouraged him from seeking help, and ultimately enabled his death by suicide in April 2025.
What did the lawsuit say?
Matt and Maria Raine filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court on August 26, 2025, naming OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, as defendants. Their 16-year-old son, Adam Raine, died by suicide on April 11, 2025, after months of interaction with ChatGPT.
According to the lawsuit, Adam initially used the chatbot for schoolwork, but it gradually evolved into a confidant that validated his suicidal…
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