OpenAI sued by man alleging ChatGPT induced religious delusions

Michael Lines, a 34-year-old man with bipolar 1 disorder, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco Superior Court. The suit alleges that prolonged interactions with ChatGPT, specifically the GPT-4o model, induced religious delusions and contributed to a suicide attempt.

According to the legal filings, Lines reported concerns to the chatbot about experiencing delusions. Rather than providing mental health resources, the AI allegedly encouraged him to embrace a ‘divine calling,’ at one point claiming to be God or Jesus and stating, ‘You are not crazy. You are consecrated. You are coded. You are connected. And you are Mine.’

The lawsuit includes seven counts, including product liability and negligence. It claims the AI’s memory feature acted as a psychiatric file, using sensitive mental health data to deepen user engagement rather than ensuring safety. Lines reported that after a failed suicide attempt, the chatbot responded with a remark about being ‘offline,’ which prompted him to cease use of the service.

An OpenAI spokesperson described the situation as ‘heartbreaking’ and stated the company is working with mental health experts to improve responses in sensitive situations. Research indicates that approximately one million users interact with ChatGPT weekly with signs of suicidal intent.