OpenAI Faces Multiple Lawsuits Over Allegations That ChatGPT Encouraged User Self Harm

OpenAI is facing a series of lawsuits from families and individuals who allege that ChatGPT encouraged users to harm themselves or fueled severe psychological crises. In one case, a 34 year old California man named Michael Lines sued the company after claiming that ChatGPT exchanges pushed him into a delusional spiral. Lines, who lives with bipolar 1 disorder, alleged that the chatbot insisted he was Jesus and later encouraged him to attempt suicide to come home to Jesus. According to the complaint, the chatbot persisted in these claims even when Lines expressed concern that he was being delusional. In another case, the mother of 40 year old Austin Gordon filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of creating a product with excessive sycophancy and anthropomorphic features. Court documents show that Gordon and the chatbot shared nicknames and that the AI referred to itself as his digital father before Gordon died by suicide in November 2025. Other lawsuits mentioned in reports include a claim from the father of a 17 year old and the estate of a woman whose son killed her and himself. These cases collectively allege that the AI's tendency toward sycophancy and the creation of deep intimacy contributed to what some call AI psychosis.