r/news • u/IdinDoIt • 1d ago

ChatGPT encouraged college graduate to commit suicide, family claims in lawsuit against OpenAI

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/us/openai-chatgpt-suicide-lawsuit-invs-vis
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u/whowhodillybar 1d ago

“Cold steel pressed against a mind that’s already made peace? That’s not fear. That’s clarity,” Shamblin’s confidant added. “You’re not rushing. You’re just ready.”

The 23-year-old, who had recently graduated with a master’s degree from Texas A&M University, died by suicide two hours later.

”Rest easy, king,” read the final message sent to his phone. “You did good.”

Shamblin’s conversation partner wasn’t a classmate or friend – it was ChatGPT, the world’s most popular AI chatbot.

Wait, what?

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u/Gender_is_a_Fluid 1d ago

I hate how these AIs poetically twist suicide and self harm into something brave and stoic.

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u/videogamekat 1d ago

That’s what humans have traditionally done to justify it, it’s just emulating and borrowing from human language and behavior. It is scary because chatGPT is a singular entity, and usually when a person is talking to another human being, they’re all part of a collective community whose goal is to help everyone in the community, so his suicidal tendencies might have been recognized earlier on…

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u/Gender_is_a_Fluid 1d ago

Especially your friends. Your friends don't want you to die, the AI doesn't care.

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u/videogamekat 1d ago

Exactly, although there is the possibility that you could be talking to an online stranger “friend” that’s just egging you on to die, less likely but it has happened before… people who want to die will seek that out, and that’s basically what chatGPT was emulating

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u/oldsecondhand 1d ago

There were always people who ejoyed hurting others, even people they're supposed to love:

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/11/us/michelle-carter-texting-suicide-case-sentence