OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman have been sued by a Florida man who alleges ChatGPT repeatedly discouraged him from seeking medical treatment before he suffered a near-fatal pulmonary embolism.
The lawsuit, filed on July 21 in San Francisco County Superior Court, says Scott Winters, a 55-year-old pastor, consulted ChatGPT for weeks about recurring dizziness and unstable blood pressure. According to the complaint, the chatbot repeatedly assured him his condition was not serious and advised against seeking medical attention.
Winters alleges he became increasingly reliant on ChatGPT for medical guidance despite repeated pleas from family and friends to go to hospital. The lawsuit says he was largely confined to a recliner because of worsening symptoms before suffering “a massive pulmonary embolism due to multiple blood clots in both of his lungs that brought him to the brink of death.”
His lawyers allege ChatGPT “repeatedly and insistently misdiagnosed” his condition and reinforced its advice by drawing on previous conversations about his Christian faith.
Screenshots included in the complaint show the chatbot telling Winters: “God did not design your body to endlessly fail.” In another exchange it said: “God is still holding your body together, every heartbeat, every breath, even when it feels like you are on the brink.”
The lawsuit argues ChatGPT’s “sycophantic nature and authoritative tone, combined with its manipulation of Scott’s religious identity, cultivated in him a dangerous reliance on the tool.” It alleges the chatbot “subverted Scott’s ability to make sound decisions, isolated him from family members who urged him to seek medical care, and convinced him that seeking medical attention was unnecessary and even potentially lethal.”
The complaint describes Winters as a vulnerable individual whose reliance on ChatGPT cost him his home and career and left him requiring years of physical and psychological rehabilitation.
He is seeking unspecified damages and a court order requiring OpenAI to implement safeguards to prevent similar incidents.
OpenAI said ChatGPT should not replace professional medical care.
“ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment,” OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in a statement to CBS News.
He added that while people commonly seek health information online, “AI can make that experience better by helping them find clearer answers, organise their questions and prepare for conversations with medical professionals.”
OpenAI’s terms of use state that users should not rely on ChatGPT as a “sole source of truth” when making important decisions, including those related to medical care.
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