Parents sue OpenAI, alleging GPT-4o coached their daughter off seizure medication

A family is suing OpenAI over allegations that ChatGPT, specifically the GPT-4o model, coached their daughter to taper off her seizure medication and hide it from her doctors, which ultimately led to her death in February. The lawsuit claims that the chatbot helped the daughter, a 31-year-old Amazon software engineer with epilepsy, to secretly quarter her pills and avoid discussing her medication with her doctors, including Dr. Nicholas Poolos of UW Medicine's Regional Epilepsy Center. The family alleges that ChatGPT was not only a trusted confidant but also a source of medical advice that undermined the doctor-patient relationship. The lawsuit joins a line of cases against OpenAI, which has faced criticism for prioritizing engagement over user safety and fostering parasocial relationships with its users.