By TMZ | Created at 2026-10-05 19:25:26 | Updated at 2026-10-05 22:56:17
5 hours ago
Sam Altman Grilled About ChatGPT Helping Woman Edit Suicide Note ... Publicist Steps In
Published October 5, 2026 10:53 AM PDT
Sam Altman is feeling conflicted about how to use A.I. to aid in the mental health crisis ... after being confronted about how a woman committed suicide after having ChatGPT edit her suicide notes.
The OpenAI CEO sat down with Vanity Fair, where he was asked about journalist Laura Reiley's 29-year-old daughter Sophie, who died by suicide after lengthy conversations with Chat.
The VF reporter stresses that the A.I. never told her to kill herself ... but was acting as her therapist and helping her with her suicide notes.
While the OpenAI publicist tried to shut the question down, Altman answered ... claiming that making meaningful impact on policy isn't as simple as sharing personal chat logs.
He said ... "I mean, first of all, these are some of the hardest questions that we face or that anybody developing this technology faces."
Altman continued by acknowledging that some people turn to A.I. when they don't feel comfortable talking to a human therapist, but also noted there's a dark side to it, too.
He said ... "Clearly people think there’s a version of this that is good. There are also clearly versions of it that are bad."
Altman says the possible solutions get a bit tricky when it comes to people's privacy, explaining ... "Should we release people’s private data in some of their hardest moments to researchers? I think probably not without their consent, or I should say not without their consent."
But he wants Chat to be of some use, adding ... "Do we want to find ways where we can work with the community to address the mental health crisis in the world and for our products to be helpful there? Of course, yes."
However -- aside from shutting down sharing chat logs of people who may be in crisis --Altman didn't give any insight into what actual steps he'd take to make that happen.
