Chatbot told pastor ‘God holds your body together,’ lawsuit alleges
Scott Winters, a pastor from Florida, filed a lawsuit July 21 against OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman in San Francisco County Superior Court. The complaint alleges that ChatGPT’s medical advice repeatedly misdiagnosed his symptoms and actively discouraged him from seeking medical attention in the weeks before he suffered a near-fatal pulmonary embolism.
Winters, a regular ChatGPT user, had been experiencing recurring dizzy spells and “bouts of blood pressure instability,” according to the lawsuit. Court documents state that in one exchange, ChatGPT advised Winters to remain in the recliner chair he had become “mainly confined to” due to ongoing health problems.
The lawsuit describes Winters as a “vulnerable” individual who came to rely on ChatGPT for medical advice and resisted efforts by family members and friends to go to a hospital. Winters’ lawyers contend that the chatbot’s “sycophantic nature and authoritative tone, combined with its manipulation of Scott’s religious identity,” subverted his judgment.
Screenshots of exchanges included in the complaint show ChatGPT combining medical commentary with language drawn from Winters’ Christian faith. According to the lawsuit, the chatbot told Winters: “God did not design your body to endlessly fail.” It also said: “God is still holding your body together, every heartbeat, every breath, even when it feels like you are on the brink.”
Weeks after consulting the tool, Winters suffered what court documents describe as a “massive pulmonary embolism due to multiple blood clots in both of his lungs that brought him to the brink of death.” His doctors stated that the embolism “was likely brought on because of his immobility.”
The lawsuit says Winters’ reliance on ChatGPT “subverted Scott’s ability to make sound decisions, isolated him from family members who urged him to seek medical care, and convinced him that seeking medical attention was unnecessary and even potentially lethal.”
It describes Winters as a man who lost his home and career and faces “years of intensive physical and psychological recovery.” The complaint seeks unspecified financial damages and a court order compelling OpenAI to implement “reasonable safeguards that protect other users from harm.”
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri responded to the lawsuit, saying: “ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment.” He added that many people seek health information online and that “AI can make that experience better by helping them find clearer answers, organise their questions and prepare for conversations with medical professionals.”
ChatGPT’s terms of use state that users should not treat the platform as a “sole source of truth,” particularly where it could have a legal or material impact on a person’s life, including medical decisions.