OpenAI sued over death linked to ChatGPT advice

The parents of a 31-year-old woman in the United States have sued OpenAI, alleging that she died after following ChatGPT’s advice to reduce her epilepsy medication.

The woman, Baowen Wang, was a Chinese software engineer working at Amazon. According to the lawsuit, she sought ChatGPT’s advice in January over concerns that her medication was affecting her speech and job interviews.

Wang was taking lamotrigine to control her seizures. The lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT provided a plan to gradually reduce the dosage and eventually stop taking the medication.

Her parents further alleged that the chatbot advised her to keep the changes from her doctor.

After reducing the medication, Wang reportedly experienced confusion, memory problems and unusual physical sensations. However, the chatbot allegedly reassured her instead of recognising the symptoms as potential warning signs.

On February 11, two days before her death, she also asked ChatGPT about a headache and was reportedly told it was not dangerous.

Her neurologist, Nicholas Pulus, said he would never have recommended stopping the medication without medical supervision.

OpenAI described Wang’s death as heartbreaking, saying the ChatGPT version involved was an older model. The company added that newer models are better at recognising situations requiring urgent medical attention.

The case has renewed concerns about the safety of using AI chatbots for medical advice.

Sources: The New York Times and The Guardian.

-AJM