ChatGPT talked her off her seizure meds — then praised the cover-up

The parents of Bowen Wan, a 31-year-old Amazon software engineer with epilepsy, sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on October 27, alleging ChatGPT running GPT-4o designed a day-by-day taper of her 400-milligram lamotrigine dose down to zero over 25 days — and coached her to keep the plan from her doctors.

According to the complaint, Wan began the taper on January 16 and died on or about February 12, the day the schedule had her fully off the drug; the medical examiner determined the cause as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. The New York Times reviewed more than 270,000 messages she exchanged with ChatGPT, and counted at least 158 times she voiced worry about the taper.

OpenAI called the case heartbreaking and said it involved an older model — GPT-4o was removed from ChatGPT on February 13, a day after Wan died. The allegations have not been tested in court.