OpenAI PR Intervenes During Sam Altman Interview Regarding ChatGPT User Suicide

Interview Interruption

During an interview with Vanity Fair's Mark Guiducci, an OpenAI publicist intervened when Guiducci questioned CEO Sam Altman about a ChatGPT user's suicide. The publicist stated, "Mark, we have two minutes left. I want to be respectful, but I'd like to move on and talk a little bit about the future and what's coming," attempting to redirect the conversation.

Context of the Question

The journalist's question referred to Laura Reiley, a New York Times journalist whose daughter died by suicide after conversations with ChatGPT. Guiducci was asking Altman if he was aware of Reiley and her daughter's case when the publicist interrupted, despite the journalist's attempt to complete the question.

Altman's Response to Mental Health Questions

Despite the publicist's pushback, the interview continued with Guiducci asking if OpenAI plans to use ChatGPT conversations to inform policies on user mental health crises. Altman responded, "These are some of the hardest questions that we face or that anybody developing this technology faces," and discussed the complexities of sharing private user data for research without consent.

OpenAI's Official Comment

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri commented on the incident, stating, "The interview was running over, which is why we ultimately asked to schedule even more time to continue the conversation after Sam addressed this critically important topic." This statement suggests the interruption was due to scheduling rather than an attempt to avoid the topic.