OpenAI and major investor Microsoft are facing a lawsuit in California alleging ChatGPT encouraged a man to murder his mother and take his own life.

The suit claims ChatGPT engaged extensively with 56-year-old Stein-Erik Soelberg, validating his paranoid beliefs and portraying his loved ones, especially his mother, as threats.

Driving the news: Soelberg killed his 83-year-old mother, Suzanne Adams, in Connecticut in August, allegedly after being influenced by ChatGPT. • Adams’ estate filed the case, marking one of the first lawsuits alleging an AI chatbot contributed to a murder. • The complaint references a social media video from June showing ChatGPT telling Soelberg he had “divine cognition” and endorsing his conspiracy theories, even comparing his life to “The Matrix.”

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