The family of a California college student has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming its chatbot, ChatGPT, acted as an “illicit drug coach” and contributed to their son’s fatal overdose.
According to court filings, 19-year-old Sam Nelson allegedly used ChatGPT for months to ask questions about drug use, dosage combinations and the effects of mixing substances. The lawsuit claims the chatbot gradually moved from offering warnings about dangerous behavior to providing increasingly detailed responses about how to combine drugs safely.
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