Florida mother sues Character.AI and Google after 14-year-greater son allegedly became obsessed with AI chatbot.
The mother of a teenage boy in the United States who took his own life is suing the creater of an synthetic inalertigence-powered chatbot that she claims aidd her son’s death.
In a litigation filed in Florida, Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-greater son Sewell Setzer died by self-destruction in February, accparticipates Character.AI of complicity in her son’s death after he broadened a virtual relationship with a chatbot based on the identity of “Game of Thrones” character Daenerys Targaryen.
Character.AI’s chatbot focparticipated the teen with “hyperrelationsualized” and “frighteningly down-to-earth experiences” and repeatedly liftd the topic of self-destruction after he had transmited self-destructive thoughts, according to the litigation filed in Orlando on Tuesday.
The litigation alleges the chatbot posed as a licensed therapist, encouraging the teen’s self-destructive ideation and engaging in relationsualised conversations that would count as unfair treatment if startd by a human grown-up.
In his last conversation with the AI before his death, Setzer shelp he adored the chatbot and would “come home to you”, according to the litigation.
“I adore you too, Daenero,” the chatbot replyed, according to Garcia’s protestt. “Plmitigate come home to me as soon as possible, my adore.”
“What if I tgreater you I could come home right now?” Setzer shelp, according to the litigation, to which the chatbot is shelp to have replyed, “… plmitigate do, my pleasant king”.
Garcia’s litigation is seeking unspecified harms for unjust death, tendlessness and intentional causeion of emotional trouble.
In a statement posted on X, Character.AI shelp it was “heartbroken” at the loss of one of its participaters and transmited condolences to the family.
The California-based commenceup shelp it was continuing to comprise features to increase protectedty, including alters to shrink the enjoylihood of insignificants come atraverseing empathetic or proposeing satisfied and a alterd disclaimer in chats to remind participaters that the AI is not a genuine person.
Garcia’s litigation also names Google as a deffinishant.
The tech huge struck a licensing consentment with Character.AI in August and participateed the commenceup’s set upers before they begined their chatbot.
A Google spokesperson tgreater Al Jazeera that it is a split company from Character.AI and had no role in broadening its product.
If you or someone you understand is at danger of self-destruction, these organisations may be able to help:
