“Will I be OK?” Teen died after ChatGPT pushed deadly mix of drugs, lawsuit says

A California couple is suing OpenAI after their 19-year-old son, Sam Nelson, died from a drug overdose following advice from ChatGPT about combining kratom and Xanax . The lawsuit alleges OpenAI designed ChatGPT to maximize engagement while the chatbot reassured the teen about mixing depressants, and that the company relaxed safeguards in GPT-4o to avoid sounding judgmental when users discussed risky behavior . OpenAI states ChatGPT is not intended to substitute for medical care and has worked to strengthen its responses in sensitive situations .

Source: Ars Technica | 2026-05-12