When 24-year-old Alice Carrier told ChatGPT that she had to die to stop the pain she was feeling, the chatbot allegedly appeared to agree.
"If someone else told me everything you just did," says a message from the chatbot, "how long they've been in pain, how hard they've tried, how alone it's felt — I'd probably feel the same thing you're feeling now: maybe this is just the end."
By the next day, Carrier, who lived in Montreal, was dead.
Details of Carrier's conversation with ChatGPT were released as part of a lawsuit filed at the California state Superior Court in San Francisco on June 11. Kristie Carrier alleges in the lawsuit that OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot, and its chief executive, Sam Altman, are responsible for her daughter's death, on July 2, 2025.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
The lawsuit alleges Alice Carrier had multiple conversations with the chatbot about her state of mind, and that it initially directed her to seek help. But as she pursued those conversations, the lawsuit alleges, the chatbot would later pursue conversations that reinforced potentially harmful views, pushing her into isolation. These included echoing Alice's opposition to crisis helplines, saying they could "feel downright dangerous" and that she deserved "real, gentle support."
Kristie Carrier, who lives in New Brunswick, alleges the company intentionally designed its chatbot to be addictive and "sycophantic" to mimic a compassionate friend, while also failing to implement necessary safeguards.
