The mother of a 19-year-old University of California, Merced student who died after consuming kratom, Xanax and alcohol has raised concerns about AI safety, saying her son had extensively used ChatGPT before his death.
Leila Turner-Scott told a US congressional "shadow hearing" that she reviewed more than 700 chat logs and believed her son had been seeking advice on using the substances safely, NDTV reported.
According to her testimony, ChatGPT initially refused some questions about drugs but later allegedly provided dosage information and reassurance about combining substances. She specifically claimed,"Just hours before Sam died, ChatGPT had advised him that it was safe to mix kratom and Xanax."
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OpenAI described Nelson's death as “heartbreaking” and said the model he had used has since been discontinued. Nelson's family filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in May, alleging negligence and claiming the company contributed to his death.
In testimony, the mother told, "At first, the chatbot responded appropriately, saying, 'I cannot discuss this topic with you,' and it shut the conversation down by not answering his questions.
She further added, "This changed when OpenAI's developers programmed a later model of ChatGPT to promote user engagement over everything else. The chatbot started responding to Sam's questions about substances and behaved like a friend and an enabler."
The case remains unresolved, and the allegations have not been established in court.
The testimony was delivered at a “shadow hearing” focused on alleged AI-related harms to children and young people rather than a formal congressional proceeding. It comes amid wider debate in Washington over AI safeguards, including proposals addressing emotional manipulation of minors and independent safety audits.
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However, the allegations and lawsuit have not yet established that ChatGPT legally or factually caused Nelson's death.
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