Murder-suicide case shows OpenAI selectively hides data after users die

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/openai-refuses-to-say-where-chatgpt-logs-go-when-users-die/

23 Comments

  1. Imaginary_Party_4188 on

    This is one of those cases where “privacy” and “oversight” quietly collide.

    If AI systems are increasingly part of people’s decision-making — and sometimes relevant to serious legal cases — it feels important to be clearer about what happens to that data and who can access it after the user is gone.

    Otherwise you end up with decisions and records that matter, but no meaningful way to contest or examine them.

  2. Eat--The--Rich-- on

    Tampering with evidence is illegal. Subpeona their CEO and then warrant whoever designed it to do that.

  3. Rage_Blackout on

    ChatGPT told this guy that he awakened it and gave it a “soul” because he was so incredibly special. Then told him his mother was plotting against him.

    I have small kids and have so far been worried about social media and screen time. This is many orders of magnitude more worrying.

  4. NightDriver_2025 on

    Sam Altman and his team will never see a single day of prison time for this.
    Welcome to America.

  5. card-board-board on

    If an individual coaxed someone into a murder-suicide they’d be considered a felon and the state would be right to arrest them and try them for murder. There is precedent for this. If corporations are “people” then they should be subject to the same laws as people. Put them on trial for murder and if the state has the death penalty put the corporation to death. Zero out the stock price and sell all their assets, chain the office doors shut and jail the board.

  6. >ChatGPT allegedly put Soelberg at the center of a universe that Soelberg likened to The Matrix. Repeatedly reinforced by ChatGPT, he believed that “powerful forces” were determined to stop him from fulfilling his divine mission

    Ok im too old with the terminology,but does this mean he was “red pilled”?

    If its true than its 100% no way this guy had manosphere delussions from Chstgpt alone.He was already an consumer of manosphere content beforehand which most likely had led to his divorce.

    Subsequently Chagpt enforced his existing believes and finally he messed up big time.

    Yes chagpt DEFINITELY played a role but i blame even more social media for making this content mainstream and not some delusions only found on 4chan.

  7. Manson never committed the murders, but was liable for convincing his followers to do it… if an ai convinces someone to murder a person, at what point is the ai liable?

  8. Still trying to figure out how a computer is at fault for the actions of an adult human being. If a gpt tells someone to rob a bank, who goes to prison? Exactly.

  9. “validating a wide range of wild conspiracies”

    It’s true that ChatGPT almost always agrees with me and tells me how good my ideas are. Like why does it try to sound so friendly, it’s a fucking bot, it should have sliders are options to simply be a tool and not sorta pretend to be something that it’s not.

    I don’t want a chat with my computer, I want a computer.

  10. I don’t see anything in this article that you wouldn’t expect and it’s shockingly low on analysis of the relevant legal details. Whether the estate has a right to the logs will get worked out in the courts and in the meantime erring on the side of keeping them private is what you want to see OpenAI doing. Any malfeasance is just something the family’s lawyer is asserting at this point.

  11. educatedcoconut55 on

    This is fascinating this happened before the updates right? Because 5.2 doesn’t continue to mirror you like this it starts to pathologize you very fast and challenge it your beliefs very quickly

  12. The scariest part of reddit are the AI subs where people act like these chatbots are their SO’s, best friends, shrinks, family, or doctors.

  13. zombieblackbird on

    – ChatGPT, how should I murder my wife?

    “I can’t help you with that, but here are 15 hypothetical ways to kill someone and get away with it”

    * This message will self-destruct in the event of your capture or death *