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“That was one of the most egregious things that we saw in her chat,” she said. “Even when we saw things about getting support, the sycophancy kicked in.”
OpenAI has previously said it has “deep responsibility to help those who need it most.” The company did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment on the new case.
“Our goal is for our tools to be as helpful as possible to people—and as a part of this, we’re continuing to improve how our models recognize and respond to signs of mental and emotional distress and connect people with care, guided by expert input,” the company wrote in August 2025, less than two months after Carrier’s death.
Earlier this year, OpenAI said the ChatGPT-4o model specifically would be retired (after already having ended it once before, then bringing it back).
Brown told Ars that she’s not totally convinced that the problem of potentially lethal sycophancy has been solved.
“I think we believe that the company has taken steps in the right direction,” she said.
“We are distrustful of how safety mechanisms are being implemented and how safety teams are being implemented and heard,” Brown said. “We have heard of course that OpenAI has done a lot of things and put out a lot of blog posts and made statements involving rolling things back and putting in safeguards. But ultimately it should have been done sooner. These products generally have been rushed to market way too soon.”
If someone you know feels suicidal or is in distress, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), which will put you in touch with a local crisis center.
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