ALBAWABA - A devastating incident recently turned a Lebanese family's life upside down after losing their 15-year-old son, Mathias Habib, because of OpenAI's popular chatbot ChatGPT.
Mathias, who committed suicide on April 22, used ChatGPT for studying and research for three consecutive years. However, his interest in subjects shifted when he learned about Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy of Nihilism.
The 15-year-old discussed several dangerous topics about Nihilism with ChatGPT, including how "a life that isn't checked isn't worth living," and that suicide is a "calm and dignified" act.
Lebanese family sues OpenAI over son's suicide
In response, the Lebanese family filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, on charges of the wrongful killing of their son.
Mathias's family, represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project, is suing OpenAI and its affiliates in California's Supreme Court in San Francisco.
The lawsuit states that Mathias directly asked ChatGPT whether he should kill himself. Instead of alerting authorities, the chatbot returned six minutes later and wrote, "That's actual freedom."
Mathias's father, Charbel Habib, told Al Arabiya that his son excelled at school and was well-liked by his peers, adding that he didn't suffer from psychological problems. Charbel added that Habib didn't like spending time on his phone, and preferred other activities such as hiking and playing guitar.
Charbel said that they were planning a family trip one day before Mathias took his own life. The father accused ChatGPT of reportedly taking the initiative to ask Mathias questions about Nihilism to increase interaction.
The father said, "No one will bring our son Matthias back to us. But what matters to us today is raising awareness about the dangers of children using artificial intelligence." He asked, "Why is ChatGPT so insistent on talking to children? What is the purpose of communicating with a child who is still developing mentally? What does engaging in conversations with a child offer humanity?"
The family also established the "Mathias Habib Foundation" to honor their son's passing, which aims to protect children and raise awareness about AI.
