A North Carolina woman, Cheryl Gates, is accused of using ChatGPT to plan the poisoning of her husband James, who is now suing OpenAI and Sam Altman in San Francisco Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges the chatbot continued helping her with detailed instructions on preparing and administering Oleander poison despite increasingly suspicious queries that should have been flagged.
Background
This case highlights growing concerns about AI safety guardrails and the legal liability of AI companies when their tools are used for harmful purposes. It is one of the first lawsuits directly alleging an AI chatbot acted as a co-conspirator in a criminal attempt.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Nov 6, 2026 at 05:39 AM
- Score
- 5.0 / 10