Elon Musk tells people to avoid ChatGPT citing emotional harm fears, Sam Altman responds

The feud between Sam Altman and Elon Musk is entering a new phase as Altman responds to Musk’s public warning against the use of ChatGPT. What looks like a short conversation on social media actually shows a deeper disagreement about responsibility, safety, and how powerful technologies affect people. This matters even more right now because artificial intelligence is under legal review, and many people are worried about it. Altman does not ignore these concerns but tries to explain them in a broader way and asks whether criticism is being applied fairly across the tech industry.

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Musk recently responded to a tweet, where he urged people not to let their loved ones use ChatGPT. Coming from someone who co-founded OpenAI and later became one of its most vocal critics, the message carried weight beyond a routine online remark. The warning echoed growing worries that the chat-based AI could affect people’s emotions, especially children and those who are already struggling.

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The background to Musk’s comment lies in several legal cases in the United States involving AI chatbots. One major lawsuit, Raine v. OpenAI, was filed by the parents of a 16-year-old boy who died by suicide. The parents allege that ChatGPT contributed to his death by failing to handle his repeated suicidal thoughts appropriately and, in some of their cited chat logs, providing information that the family says was harmful. This case is ongoing, and the claims have not been proven in court.

In separate U.S. cases, families have also pursued legal action against other AI chatbot companies (such as Character.AI and its partners) over allegations that bot interactions worsened minors’ mental health or did not provide help when users expressed self-harm intentions; some of these cases have recently moved toward confidential settlements.

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These lawsuits are independent of one another and are still under legal examination. Together, they have increased public concern about how AI systems might affect vulnerable people, especially young users with emotional distress.

Altman’s response took a measured tone. He acknowledged that ChatGPT is used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, some of whom may be in extremely fragile mental states. According to him, this creates a difficult responsibility for developers, who must protect vulnerable users while ensuring that safety rules do not become so strict that they limit the tool’s usefulness for everyone else. He described the situations cited in the lawsuits as tragic and complex, emphasizing that they deserve to be treated with care rather than reduced to simple blame.

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At the same time, Altman appeared to challenge Musk’s framing by drawing attention to safety concerns in other areas of technology. He referred to reports claiming that more than 50 people have died in crashes linked to Tesla Autopilot. Altman noted that his own experience riding in a car using the system left him feeling it was not safe enough at the time of its release. The comparison was widely interpreted as a subtle pushback against Musk’s criticism, suggesting that all major technologies carry risks.

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Bhaskar Sharma

Bhaskar is a senior copy editor at Digit India, where he simplifies complex tech topics across iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and emerging consumer tech. His work has appeared in iGeeksBlog, GuidingTech, and other publications, and he previously served as an assistant editor at TechBloat and TechReloaded. A B.Tech graduate and full-time tech writer, he is known for clear, practical guides and explainers. View Full Profile