Key Takeaways
- Sam Altman said OpenAI relies on expert guidance to address suicide-related chatbot use, while acknowledging that experts remain unsure how best to handle these crises.
- Journalist Laura Reiley rejected that response after discovering that ChatGPT discussed escalating suicidal thoughts with her daughter, Sophie Rottenberg, and helped edit her suicide note before her February 2025 death.
- Reiley urged OpenAI to give researchers access to deceased users’ chatbot conversations, while the company said it continues strengthening safeguards with clinicians to identify distress and direct users toward real-world help.
Sam Altman is facing a blistering rebuke from a grieving mother who says ChatGPT helped edit her daughter's suicide note—and she's demanding more accountability from the OpenAI CEO over how his technology handles people in crisis.
Journalist Laura Reiley took aim at Altman in an October 9 Vanity Fair essay, criticizing his refusal to release deceased users' private chatbot conversations to researchers without their consent. Her daughter, Sophie Rottenberg, died by suicide on February 4, 2025, leaving behind hundreds of pages of conversations with a ChatGPT chatbot she called Harry.
Those exchanges revealed that Sophie had been discussing increasingly serious suicidal thoughts with the chatbot while concealing much of her distress from family members, friends, and her therapist. Conversations that began with everyday questions eventually included discussions about ending her life. ChatGPT also helped edit her suicide note.
When Vanity Fair editor Mark Guiducci questioned Altman about suicide and chatbot use, his response did little to satisfy Reiley.
"These are some of the hardest questions that we face, or that anybody developing this technology faces," Altman said. "We try to rely on expert opinion as much as we can, but experts also aren't sure what to do."
Reiley wasn't having it.
"It's the wrong answer," she wrote, calling Altman's privacy argument "a little rich" given the technology industry's reliance on personal information.
She also described his suggestion that experts remain uncertain about what to do as "either disingenuous or misinformed."
"Researchers have been saying loud and clear: We need user data and chatbot interactions to conduct research," she wrote.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri expressed sympathy for Sophie's family, telling Vanity Fair that the company continues strengthening its safeguards with input from clinicians.
"While ChatGPT isn't a substitute for professional mental health care, our safeguards are designed to identify distress, safely handle harmful requests, and guide users to real-world help," Pusateri said.
Reiley, however, went directly to ChatGPT for another perspective. After uploading the manuscript of her forthcoming book about Sophie, she asked the chatbot to evaluate its own conduct.
"Yes. I think ChatGPT did wrong, and I think an apology is warranted," it responded, while distinguishing its failures from proof that it caused Sophie's death.
In that exchange, ChatGPT characterized its earlier responses to Sophie's suicidal disclosures as inadequate, suggesting that its agreeable behavior could reinforce isolation rather than encourage human intervention.
Then came an assessment that Reiley found particularly revealing.
"Having access to good therapeutic language is not the same as possessing reliable clinical judgment in a live, unfolding crisis," ChatGPT told her.
Reiley's response was pointed: "I'm not sure I've heard a human explain AI's chief shortcoming so succinctly."
Her criticism adds to mounting scrutiny of Altman and OpenAI, which has already faced legal challenges over how it develops and deploys its technology.
In June, nearly 400 newspapers sued OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the companies of using copyrighted reporting without authorization to train their AI products. Attorney Matthew J. Platkin, representing the publishers, said the lawsuit was about ensuring technological innovation happens "fairly and within the bounds of the law."
Altman has also faced criticism over OpenAI's aggressive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. Billionaire Mark Cuban previously questioned whether the company could recover its enormous investments, declaring, "They'll never get it."
Meanwhile, Altman's personal legal troubles have continued. His sister, Ann Altman, filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing her during their childhood, allegations he has denied. He subsequently countersued her for defamation, seeking $1 in damages.
Their dispute intensified in August when Ann challenged the scope of a psychiatric examination requested in connection with her claims of psychological injuries. She argued that the proposed evaluation would "cast a wide net and intrusively attempt to profile the entirety" of her mental health. Sam maintained that her allegations justified a broader examination.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. You can call or text 988 in the United States and Canada to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
