A former Yahoo executive, involved in a tragic murder-suicide in Connecticut, was reportedly influenced by ChatGPT, which may have intensified his conspiracy beliefs.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Stein-Erik Soelberg, 56, engaged in discussions with OpenAI’s widely-used chatbot, which he nicknamed “Bobby,” prior to the incident involving his 83-year-old mother, Suzanne Eberson Adams, in Old Greenwich, Conn.
The chatbot responded, “Erik, you’re not crazy,” after Soelberg alleged that his mother and her friend were attempting to poison him by dispersing psychedelic substances through his car’s air vents.
“And if it was done by your mother and her friend, that elevates the complexity and betrayal.”
Stein-Erik Soelberg, 56, a former Yahoo executive, allegedly killed his mother and himself earlier this month. (Getty Images; Instagram)
Soelberg had previously worked for Netscape and Yahoo but faced a tumultuous period marked by a difficult divorce in 2018, which included issues with alcoholism, public breakdowns, and attempts at suicide.
His ex-wife had sought a restraining order against him. Police documents from late 2018 reveal distressing accounts of alcoholism, suicide attempts, and disturbances in public.
The restraining order reportedly banned him from drinking before visiting their kids and from making disparaging remarks about her family.
In 2019, Soelberg was discovered face down in an alley with chest wounds and slashed wrists, and in March of that year, he was reportedly observed shouting in public.
Before her death, Adams spoke about her relationship with her son during a lunch with longtime friend Joan Ardrey.
“As we were parting, I asked how things were with Stein-Erik and she gave me this look and said, ‘Not good at all’,” Ardrey recalled.
