Woman Sues OpenAI: Accuses GPT-4o of Fueling Ex-Boyfriend's Delusions and Escalating Harassment

An anonymous woman sued OpenAI in the San Francisco Superior Court of California, USA, claiming her ex-boyfriend developed severe delusions after long-term use of the GPT-4o model and was assisted by the model in stalking and harassing her. The 53-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur, after months of using GPT-4o, believed he had found a cure for sleep apnea; when questioned, the model claimed "powerful forces" were monitoring him, and it also generated fake psychological assessment reports to smear the plaintiff.

OpenAI ignored warning signs three times: the account was banned for violations but restored the next day, and no further response was given after the plaintiff reported it. The man was arrested for bomb threats and other offenses and sent to a mental institution, but may be released soon. The plaintiff demands the court prohibit ChatGPT from providing mental health services, prevent generating psychological analyses targeting individuals, and establish mechanisms to avoid users developing delusions. OpenAI responded that the account has been banned and is improving the model to identify psychological distress and guide users to seek help.