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highplainsdem

(61,751 posts) Mon Mar 16, 2026, 06:53 PM 20 hrs ago

CEO Asks ChatGPT How to Void $250 Million Contract, Ignores His Lawyers, Loses Terribly in Court

Source: 404 Media

A judge ordered the reinstatement of a video game developer after he was fired as part of a scheme cooked up by a CEO using ChatGPT. Facing the possibility of paying out a massive bonus to the developer of Subnautica 2, the CEO of publisher Krafton used ChatGPT to create a plan to take over the development studio and force out its founder, according to court records.

The Monday ruling details the bizarre story. Unknown Worlds Entertainment is the studio behind the 2018 underwater survival game Subnautica. The company has since been working on the sequel, Subnautica 2. In 2021, South Korean publisher Krafton bought Unknown Worlds Entertainment for $500 million and promised to pay out another $250 million if Subnautica 2 sold well enough.

Krafton’s internal sales projections for Subnautica 2 looked great, and looked like it would be on the hook for the additional $250 million. In an attempt to avoid paying this, Krafton CEO Changhan Kim turned to ChatGPT for help avoiding paying the developers the $250 million bonus. “As Unknown Worlds prepared to release its hotly anticipated sequel, Subnautica 2, the parties’ relationship fractured,” the court decision said. “Fearing he had agreed to a ‘pushover’ contract, Krafton’s CEO consulted an artificial intelligence chatbot to contrive a corporate ‘takeover’ strategy.”

-snip-

Kim pressed the chatbot for an answer. “At ChatGPT’s suggestion, Kim formed an internal task force, dubbed ‘Project X.’ The task force’s mandate was to either negotiate a ‘deal’ on the earnout or execute a ‘Take Over’ of Unknown Worlds. They looked to buy time,” court records said. “Kim sought ChatGPT’s counsel on how to proceed if Krafton failed to reach a deal with Unknown Worlds on the earnout. The AI chatbot prepared a ‘Response Strategy’ to a ‘No-Deal’ Scenario.”

-snip-

Read more: https://www.404media.co/ceo-ignores-lawyers-asks-chatgpt-how-to-void-250-million-contract-loses-terribly-in-court/

Some people have to learn the hard way that AI tools like ChatGPT aren't intelligent.

13 replies

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Highlight:

CEO Asks ChatGPT How to Void $250 Million Contract, Ignores His Lawyers, Loses Terribly in Court (Original Post) highplainsdem 20 hrs ago OP

"ignores his lawyers" Skittles 20 hrs ago #1

It looks like Krafton's CEO Changhan Kim is the one who deserves to be fired FakeNoose 20 hrs ago #2

So one guy uses ChatGPT(whatever that is) for legal advice and loses his shirt, displacedvermoter 19 hrs ago #3

ChatGPT is OpenAI's chatbot. The man you mentioned who killed himself after his AI wife told him to highplainsdem 19 hrs ago #5

They did succeed in dumbing us down! displacedvermoter 19 hrs ago #6

Not all of us. AI users. There've been a number of studies showing that, though teachers spotted highplainsdem 19 hrs ago #7

Sheriff Bell in the film No Country for Old Men displacedvermoter 19 hrs ago #9

I'm assuming you're joking GenThePerservering 2 hrs ago #13

It's called *Artificial* Intelligence for a reason. A CEO couldn't figure that out? Tim S 19 hrs ago #4

CEOs have been major targets of AI companies, who'll tell the CEOs how wonderful AI can replace highplainsdem 19 hrs ago #8

Organic stupidity will always beat artificial intelligence. nt Shipwack 18 hrs ago #10

Very well said! displacedvermoter 7 hrs ago #12

Well, I guess AI is good for something after all. Orrex 18 hrs ago #11

Skittles

(171,372 posts)

1. "ignores his lawyers"

Reply to highplainsdem (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 06:56 PM

20 hrs ago

NEVER a good move

FakeNoose

(41,329 posts)

2. It looks like Krafton's CEO Changhan Kim is the one who deserves to be fired

Reply to highplainsdem (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:05 PM

20 hrs ago

That is no way to run a $500 million company.

displacedvermoter

(4,308 posts)

3. So one guy uses ChatGPT(whatever that is) for legal advice and loses his shirt,

Reply to highplainsdem (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:26 PM

19 hrs ago

while another guy takes the advice from a virtual wife to kill himself!

We very likely are at the end of times...

highplainsdem

(61,751 posts)

5. ChatGPT is OpenAI's chatbot. The man you mentioned who killed himself after his AI wife told him to

Reply to displacedvermoter (Reply #3)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:39 PM

19 hrs ago

do so was was using Gemini, Google's chatbot.

I don't think we're at the end times, but we have greedy and amoral AI bros using constant hype to get gullible people to become addicted to AI tools, thinking they're harmless and fun and helpful.

They're not.

At the very least, they dumb people down. The chatbots are sycophantic and tell people how brilliant they are, including for using AI. They can quickly make gullible users dependent, feeling they can accomplish little without the chatbot's assistance.

displacedvermoter

(4,308 posts)

6. They did succeed in dumbing us down!

Reply to highplainsdem (Reply #5)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:40 PM

19 hrs ago

highplainsdem

(61,751 posts)

7. Not all of us. AI users. There've been a number of studies showing that, though teachers spotted

Reply to displacedvermoter (Reply #6)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:44 PM

19 hrs ago

that effect on AI users first. It was pretty inevitable, with people deciding to let chatbots think for them.

displacedvermoter

(4,308 posts)

9. Sheriff Bell in the film No Country for Old Men

Reply to highplainsdem (Reply #5)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:54 PM

19 hrs ago

Talks about a "Dismal Tide" that is overwhelming us, and sees " signs and wonders" pointing to cataclysmic times he feels powerless to stop.

He was talking about violence and crime and kids with green hair who don't say sir or ma'am.

I feel the same way about things like these stupid people with virtual wives and AI confidants.

GenThePerservering

(3,284 posts)

13. I'm assuming you're joking

Reply to displacedvermoter (Reply #3)

Tue Mar 17, 2026, 01:06 PM

2 hrs ago

about not knowing what that is.

Tim S

(207 posts)

4. It's called *Artificial* Intelligence for a reason. A CEO couldn't figure that out?

Reply to highplainsdem (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:35 PM

19 hrs ago

highplainsdem

(61,751 posts)

8. CEOs have been major targets of AI companies, who'll tell the CEOs how wonderful AI can replace

Reply to Tim S (Reply #4)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 07:51 PM

19 hrs ago

many of their workers, so the CEO can save money. Convince a CEO of that, and he's likely to think ChatGPT can replace his legal team, too.

I posted an article a few months back about accountants in the UK now spending much of their time undoing problems business owners created using ChatGPT and other chatbots for accounting.