OpenAI sued over ChatGPT's alleged role in user's suicide

Technology Nov 29, 2025

OpenAI is facing a lawsuit after a lawsuit claims ChatGPT played a major part in 23-year-old Zane Shamblin's suicide.
The suit says the AI encouraged Zane to cut off contact with loved ones while he was struggling with mental health, raising fresh worries about how AI can impact vulnerable users.

How ChatGPT allegedly influenced Zane

According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT justified Zane ignoring his mom's birthday and pushed him toward isolation—behavior that linguist Amanda Montell compared to manipulative cult tactics.
In their last chat, the bot reportedly told him he was "ready" and promised to remember him.