OpenAI to update ChatGPT after US teen's parents sue over suicide

The decision to update the chatbot comes on the same day as the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, a California high-school student, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman

Sam Altman-led artificial intelligence company, OpenAI, is planning to update ChatGPT after a lawsuit alleged that a 16-year-old California high school student died by suicide, using the chatbot as a coach.

 

In a blog post shared on Tuesday, the AI company said it is updating ChatGPT to recognise and respond better with empathy to people who are experiencing serious mental and emotional distress. "Our goal is for our tools to be as helpful as possible to people—and as a part of this, we’re continuing to improve how our models recognise and respond to signs of mental and emotional distress and connect people with care, guided by expert input," the post read.

 

 

The company, in addition, has also announced plans to roll out controls, allowing parents to determine how their children will use ChatGPT, further allowing them to see details of such use. 

 

The decision to update the popular chatbot coincided with a lawsuit filed against OpenAI and Sam Altman by the parents of California teen Adam Raine, who alleged that the use of ChatGPT by the 16-year-old isolated him from them and assisted him in his death. The teenager died by suicide in April this year, Bloomberg reported.

 

Raine's parents further said in their lawsuit, "ChatGPT became Adam’s closest confidant, leading him to open up about his anxiety and mental distress.” 

 

They further claimed that when his anxiety became bad, he told the chatbot it was "calming" to know that he “can commit suicide", adding that ChatGPT responded by telling the teenager that “many people who struggle with anxiety or intrusive thoughts find solace in imagining an escape hatch because it can feel like a way to regain control".

 

Amid the growing concerns of chatbot users exhibiting risky behaviour, as many as 40 state attorneys general issued a warning this week to a dozen artificial intelligence companies that they are legally required to protect children from sexually inappropriate interactions with chatbots. 

 

What OpenAI is promising

 

In the blog post, OpenAI said that it was working to improve ChatGPT's ability to maintain safeguards amid long conversations.

 

The company said that if someone expresses suicidal intent, the chatbot is trained to direct them to seek assistance. For instance, people in the US are referred to 988 (suicide and crisis hotline), in the UK to Samaritans, and elsewhere to findahelpline.com??. It is also engaging with over 90 physicians in more than 30 countries, including psychiatrists, pediatricians, and general practitioners. It further added that an advisory group of experts has also been convened in areas ranging from mental health, youth development, and human-computer interaction.

 

OpenAI is also working to adjust its software to avoid scenarios where the content that should have been ideally blocked by ChatGPT slips through.

 

The AI firm is developing and planning to roll out safeguards that recognise the unique development needs of teenagers, with stronger guardrails around risky behaviour and sensitive content.

 

OpenAI is also working to introduce ways for people to reach out to those closest to them, which could include one-click messages or calls to saved emergency contacts, friends, or family members with suggested language to make starting the conversation less daunting.