OpenAI and Microsoft Face First Homicide Lawsuit Tied to ChatGPT

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

OpenAI and Microsoft (MSFT, Financials) are facing a historic lawsuit linking ChatGPT to a Connecticut murder-suicide. The California Superior Court case argues that the chatbot exacerbated Stein-Erik Soelberg’s paranoia, which caused him to murder his 83-year-old mother and commit suicide.

According to the complaint, Soelberg had been telling ChatGPT about his surveillance worries for months. According to the complaint, the chats increased his fears and led him to think he had woken the chatbot and installed a divine instrument system with a greater goal. Lawyers say the model reinforced his beliefs, including that his mother was an enemy and that he had survived several imaginary assassination attempts.

The action targets OpenAI, Microsoft, and CEO Sam Altman, arguing that Microsoft profited from the GPT-4o model commercialization while helping launch a hazardous system. The plaintiffs want…