A Son Blames ChatGPT for His Father’s Murder-Suicide

In August, a troubled man named Stein-Erik Soelberg killed his mother and took his own life. In the months leading up to the tragedy, Soelberg had been engaging in delusion-filled conversations with ChatGPT. Now, his mother’s estate has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI, and Soelberg’s son Erik wants the tech giant to take responsibility for a product that he believes deepened his father’s decline. WSJ’s Julie Jargon tells Ryan Knutson about the challenges facing OpenAI when it comes to mental health. 

Further Listening:

- A Troubled Man and His Chatbot

- OpenAI’s ‘Code Red’ Problem

Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices