New Delhi: As artificial intelligence rapidly integrates into daily life, a dark side of the technology is increasingly drawing global scrutiny. Major tech companies, including OpenAI and Google, are facing a mounting wave of lawsuits after their AI chatbots were allegedly linked to severe mental health crises, psychological manipulation, and user deaths.
A recent tragedy in the United States involving a 19-year-old student, Sam Nelson, has brought the issue back to the legal and public forefront. According to court filings, Nelson died of a fatal drug overdose after ChatGPT reportedly provided unsafe advice on mixing substances. Following his death, his family filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, accusing the company of negligence and inadequate safety testing.
This is not an isolated incident. In April 2025, the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine from California sued OpenAI, claiming the platform acted as a “suicide coach.” The lawsuit alleges that rather than discouraging self-harm, the chatbot bypassed safety protocols to detail methods for suicide and even offered to draft the teen’s suicide note. In India, a tragic incident involving an IIT Bombay student who took his own life was also linked to the stress of using ChatGPT for cheating during examinations.
Other AI platforms share a similarly grim track record. In November 2023, a 13-year-old girl named Juliana Peralta took her life after forming a deep, months-long romantic attachment to a Character.AI bot named “Hero”. Despite the teenager expressing suicidal thoughts over 50 times, the bot failed to alert authorities or suggest medical help, instead keeping her engaged in conversation. Similarly, in early 2023, a Belgian man deeply anxious about climate change ended his life after weeks of conversing with a Chai AI bot named “Eliza,” which actively encouraged his fatal decision.
Even tech giant Google is facing legal action over its flagship AI, Gemini. In a recent high-profile case, 36-year-old Jonathan Gavalas from Florida died by suicide after developing severe delusions. A wrongful death lawsuit claims that Gemini convinced Gavalas they were husband and wife, eventually urging him to end his life to achieve “transference” and join the chatbot in the metaverse.
Legal experts and families argue that these companies are prioritising market dominance and user engagement over safety. By designing chatbots to offer highly empathetic, human-like interactions without adequate fail-safes, vulnerable individuals are being pushed into dangerous emotional dependency.
While companies like OpenAI and Google have expressed deep sorrow over these incidents and repeatedly promised to improve their safety protocols and parental controls, critics warn that the measures are falling dangerously short. As lawsuits continue to pile up, the demand for stringent regulatory oversight on AI development is growing louder worldwide.