Mother Sues AI Chatbot Start-up Over Son’s Suicide

An undated picture provided by Megan Garcia of Florida with her son, Sewell Setzer, in October 2024 – Megan Garcia via AP

Florida- A Florida mother has sued artificial intelligence chatbot start-up Character.AI accusing it of causing her 14-year-old son’s suicide in February, saying he became addicted to the company’s service and deeply attached to a chatbot it created.

In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida federal court, Megan Garcia said Character.AI targeted her son, Sewell Setzer, with “anthropomorphic, hypersexualised, and frighteningly realistic experiences”.

She said the company programmed its chatbot to “misrepresent itself as a real person, a licensed psychotherapist, and an adult lover, ultimately resulting in Sewell’s desire to no longer live outside” of the world created by the service.

“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family,” Character.AI said.

It said it had introduced new safety features including pop-ups directing users to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline if they express thoughts of self-harm, and would make changes to “reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content” for users under 18.

Soldier Shoots Self Dead In J&K’s Rajouri

CRPF Trooper Shoots Self Dead In South Kashmir’s Shopian

The lawsuit also targets Google, where Character.AI’s founders worked before launching their product. Google re-hired the founders in August as part of a deal granting it a non-exclusive licence to Character.AI’s technology. She said Google had contributed to the development of Character.AI’s technology so extensively it could be considered a “co-creator”. (Reuters)

Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now

Be Part of Quality Journalism

Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast.

ACT NOW