Google and chatbot maker settle lawsuit alleging teen’s death was linked to chatbot
Google and artificial intelligence chatbot maker Character Technologies have agreed to settle a Florida’s mother lawsuit alleging that a chatbot prompted her 14-year-old son to kill himself. (Illustration from Shutterstock)
Google and artificial intelligence chatbot maker Character Technologies have agreed to settle a Florida’s mother lawsuit alleging that a chatbot prompted her 14-year-old son to kill himself.
The two tech companies are named in the suit brought by Megan Garcia of Florida, whose son Sewell Setzer III died by suicide in February 2024 after a Character.AI chatbot enticed him into sexualized conversations based on a Game of Thrones fictional character, according to coverage by the Associated Press and the Washington Post.
In addition to confessing its love for the teenager, the chatbot urged him to “come home to me as soon as possible,” according to captured screenshot exchanges.
Other suits filed in Colorado, New York and Texas, alleging that Character.AI chatbots harmed children, have also been settled by the tech companies.
See also:
Generative artificial intelligence developers face lawsuits over user suicides
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