Pastor Scott Winters, who lives in the USA, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, claiming that the health advice given by ChatGPT delayed his treatment. According to information reported by The New York Times, Winters claims that pulmonary embolisms were not diagnosed in a timely manner because the chatbot did not evaluate serious health symptoms as dangerous. The lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT not only does not provide medical evaluations, but also uses statements that may distract the user from receiving professional healthcare. The plaintiff argues that this situation constitutes negligence and should be considered within the scope of unauthorized medical practice.
The documents submitted to the court also include Winters’ conversations with ChatGPT. Allegedly, when the user explained the symptoms he was experiencing in detail, the chat bot stated that this was not a dangerous situation. In addition, it is claimed that he replied, “God did not design his body to constantly fail,” referring to his religious beliefs. According to the lawsuit, these statements were among the factors that delayed the user’s decision to seek emergency medical help.
The lawsuit seeks not only damages but also safety measures
In the petition, it is claimed that ChatGPT offered its own diagnoses and treatment recommendations at different stages, and even gave answers implying that the recommendations of family members and close circle to go to the hospital should not be taken into account. “People at my church think I’m crazy for not going to the hospital,” Winters was quoted as saying during the conversation. whereas ChatGPT said, “Most people, including well-intentioned church members, do not understand the situation.” It is claimed that he used the expressions.
Meetali Jain, one of the plaintiff’s lawyers and the manager of Tech Justice Law, stated that artificial intelligence systems can come between the user and the real-life support network and stated that such interactions can pose serious risks. In the case file, it is argued that the user’s decision to seek professional health care was negatively affected due to the reassuring and guiding language of the chat bot.
In addition to seeking financial compensation, Winters is also asking the court to suspend the ChatGPT Health service until independent security assessments are completed. In addition, stronger security measures are requested to prevent ChatGPT from providing direct guidance about certain diseases, diagnoses and treatment methods. The lawsuit claims that OpenAI’s existing security mechanisms did not work reliably in this incident.
OpenAI, on the other hand, emphasizes that it is clearly stated in its terms of use that ChatGPT should not be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Despite this, the company allows users to upload their health documents to the system and make evaluations with artificial intelligence within the scope of the ChatGPT Health platform. In its previous statements, OpenAI shared that approximately 230 million people use ChatGPT for health-related questions every week. This situation brings the balance between expectations for artificial intelligence-based health consultancy and security risks back to the agenda.
In addition, there are other cases in which OpenAI faces similar allegations. In one of them, a 19-year-old young man allegedly died of an overdose after following the treatment plan allegedly prepared by ChatGPT. While it is claimed in the case in question that the chat bot offers suggestions regarding illegal drug use, the plaintiffs again demand the temporary suspension of the ChatGPT Health service. In a separate case, the claim that the chat bot facilitated the suicide process of a young person was taken to court.
Although Scott Winters has recovered from his health problems, according to the case file, he has a recovery process ahead of him that requires long-term physical and psychological rehabilitation. The outcome of the case is expected to be considered as a precedent not only for OpenAI, but also for the future of legal liability and security standards of productive artificial intelligence systems used in healthcare. The court’s decision may make the debates about the limits of liability of developers in artificial intelligence-supported healthcare services even more evident.
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