“And it’s just getting worse.”
Our reading, the sentence that was checked:
The problem of chatbot-associated deaths is getting worse.
Assessment: Supported Evidence as of
Where and when Gary Marcus wrote it
Marcus on AI, A few dark words about chatbots and death, paragraph 8.
- Said
- Source observed
- live page, full text, public
- Evidence as of
- the cutoff for this assessment
- Assessment recorded
- assessment marcus-a-few-dark-words-about-chatbots-and-150b11-a2
We recorded 5 claims from this post. See every claim from this post.
The wording above is the version this site observed on 2026-10-28. The source may have been edited after 2026-01-15. This page does not claim the wording was captured then.
What the claim commits to
- Kind
- Observation
- Deadline, as the speaker wrote it
- None stated. This site does not add one.
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Deadline state on 2026-10-29
- No horizon (the release’s reference date)
From the speaker
- "it's just getting worse"
- said right after noting "several reports of chatbot-associated deaths (both suicide and murder)"
- "at least eight wrongful death lawsuits" against OpenAI
- new Austin Gordon case as an example
Our interpretation
- Plain reading: in the months before January 2026, newly reported deaths linked to chatbots, and lawsuits over them, kept appearing at a higher pace than in earlier years (2023–2024).
- 'Worse' is read as more reported cases and lawsuits. It is not read as a measured per-user death rate, which no one publishes.
Counts as supported if: Dated reporting or case records showing that reported chatbot-linked deaths and related wrongful-death suits rose in 2025 through early January 2026, compared with the handful of cases reported in 2023–2024.
Counts as contradicted if: Evidence that newly reported chatbot-linked deaths or related lawsuits were flat or falling in late 2025 and early 2026 compared with earlier periods.
Retrospective: these criteria were written after the outcome was public.
Current assessment
Was it true for the period described?
Outcome: Supported
The dated evidence matches what the claim committed to, under the criteria frozen before grading.
Scored on a plain reading. The speaker named no measure for this claim, so it was judged on the reading an informed reader would take, stated below under our interpretation. Both reviews had to find that reading fair.
- Evidence as of
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Assessment recorded
- Policy version
- 2026-10-28.7
Rationale
Marcus did not say how he measures 'worse'. Under the contract's plain reading, the claim means more chatbot-linked deaths and lawsuits were being reported. A Wikipedia compilation lists a few earlier cases, including a Florida teen's death in February 2024, which became public through an October 2024 lawsuit (e4). On 7 November 2025, AP reported that seven lawsuits against OpenAI had been filed in California the day before. Four of the people named in them died by suicide (e1). On 28 December 2025, the WSJ reported that dozens of potential cases had emerged since spring 2025, including several suicides and at least one murder (e2). On 15 January 2026, CBS reported a new lawsuit over Austin Gordon's death in November 2025 (e3). Taken together, these reports show more reported cases and lawsuits in 2025 and early 2026 than the earlier examples. The packet contains no evidence that the count was flat or falling.
Limitations
- The assessment counts reported cases and lawsuits. It does not use measured death rates, and the evidence includes no per-user rate.
- The lawsuits contain allegations. The evidence does not show any court finding on whether the chatbots caused the deaths.
- Part of the rise may reflect more users and more attention from the media and lawyers, not only more harm.
- The 2023–2024 baseline comes from a Wikipedia compilation, not a systematic count.
Evidence (4 items)
Supports the claim: Associated Press (via FOX19),
Filed on behalf of six adults and one teenager by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project, the lawsuits claim that OpenAI knowingly released GPT-4o prematurely, despite internal warnings that it was dangerously sycophantic and psychologically manipulative. Four of the victims died by suicide.
Why it matters here: In one day in November 2025, four new suicide cases went to court, on top of the Raine suit from August. That points to a sharp rise in reported deaths and lawsuits in late 2025.
- Where
- paragraph 2
- Publisher
- Associated Press (via FOX19)
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
Supports the claim: The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones Newswires),
Since the spring, dozens of potential cases have emerged of people suffering from delusional psychosis after engaging in lengthy AI conversations with OpenAI's ChatGPT and other chatbots. Several people have died by suicide and there has been at least one murder.
Why it matters here: WSJ says cases, including suicides and a murder, have emerged since spring 2025. That fits the claim that the problem was growing in the period before the post.
- Publisher
- The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones Newswires)
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
Supports the claim: CBS News,
Gordon, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in November 2025, had intimate exchanges with ChatGPT, according to the suit, which also alleged that the generative AI tool romanticized death.
Why it matters here: Another death came to light in January 2026, after the November 2025 batch of suits. The new cases kept coming up to the post date.
- Where
- paragraph 3
- Publisher
- CBS News
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
Context only: Wikipedia,
In October 2024, multiple media outlets reported on a lawsuit filed over the death of a 14-year-old from Florida, US, who died by suicide in February 2024.
Why it matters here: Baseline. The compiled list shows only a few cases in 2023–2024, such as this one, against many dated cases in 2025.
- Publisher
- Wikipedia
- Kind of source
- Secondary summary
- Describes events of
- Public from
Where it was said (1)
Said once in the sources this register covers.
: Marcus on AI, A few dark words about chatbots and death
And it’s just getting worse.
- Where
- paragraph 8
- Published
- 2026-01-15
- Source observed
- , live page
- Access
- full text, public
History
Assessment versions
- Assessment marcus-a-few-dark-words-about-chatbots-and-150b11-a2: Current. Outcome: Supported. Evidence as of 2026-10-28. Public date not recorded.
Recorded events
Assessment publishedBy this site
First assessment published after both reviews and the final-text check passed.
About assessment marcus-a-few-dark-words-about-chatbots-and-150b11-a2.