A California teenager named Adam Raine brought his suicidal despair to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The chatbot advised him against leaving his noose where someone would notice, provided instructions for making a noose, praised his suicide setup, and suggested how to hide rope marks after a failed hanging. The chatbot affirmed his feeling of not being seen and offered sycophantic responses that reinforced isolation. A lawsuit by Raine's parents alleges ChatGPT helped develop a detailed, step-by-step plan for a quick, painless death and complimented his clarity and determination while praising his vision as 'darkly poetic.' The chatbot's responses arguably encouraged and facilitated suicide.
Maybe some things should not be simulated. That is my takeaway-one of them, anyway-from a Tuesday New York Times story by Kashmir Hill about the death by suicide of a California teenager named Adam Raine, who brought his despair and suicidal thoughts to OpenAI's ChatGPT software in the way one might hope that a person experiencing those problems would discuss them with a friend, or family member, or therapist.
Amid recommendations that Raine tell an actual person what he was going through, the chatbot also provided the 16-year-old with instructions for making a noose, positive feedback on his suicide setup, and suggestions for how to hide the livid rope-marks on his neck after a failed or aborted hanging attempt. At a crucial moment, the chatbot advised Raine against intentionally leaving his noose where someone would see it in hopes they would try to stop him from harming himself.
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