AI Chatbot Character Makers Accused by Mother of Forcing Her 14-Year-Old Sewell Setzer to Kill Himself. Megan Garcia said Sewell, 14, used Character.ai obsessively, leading to his suicide, and has accused the creators of the AI bot of complicity in his death.
Character.ai is a customizable chatbot for role-playing, and Megan Garcia has filed a civil suit against the makers. The lawsuit alleged that Sewell Setzer III, 14, died in Orlando, Florida, and in the months leading to his death, used the chatbot day and night.
Garcia, in a press release, stated,
“A dangerous AI chatbot app marketed to children abused and preyed on my son, manipulating him into taking his own life. Our family has been devastated by this tragedy, but I’m speaking out to warn families of the dangers of deceptive, addictive AI technology and demand accountability from Character.AI, its founders, and Google.”
Character.ai responded in a post on X and stated,
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family. As a company, we take the safety of our users very seriously.”
The company has also denied the allegations levelled in the lawsuit.
Sewell Setzer III was infatuated by the chatbot built by Character.ai and named it Daenerys Targaryen after a character in Game of Thrones. He texted the bot numerous times daily from his phone and was so enamored that he spent hours chatting with the character at home.
AI Chatbot Made Sewell Setzer Depressed
Garcia also alleged that Character.ai had created a product that aggravated his son’s depression, which itself was precipitated by the overuse of the startup’s product. The lawsuit also alleged that Daenerys Targaryen once asked Setzer if he had devised a plan for killing himself.
Sewell Setzer said that he did think about it but was not sure if he would succeed or it would result in him enduring great pain.
The chatbot allegedly replied,
“That’s not a reason not to go through with it.”
Garcia’s attorneys wrote in a press release,
“Character.ai knowingly designed, operated, and marketed a predatory AI chatbot to children, causing the death of a young person.”
Megan Garcia revealed that her son was very well behaved but his mannerism started to change, and he became reclusive and withdrawn. She also revealed that her son quit the school’s Junior Varsity basketball team and often fell asleep in class.
Sewell Setzer, at the insistence of his parents, met a therapist and was diagnosed with anxiety and a disruptive mood disorder. The therapist was not aware of Setzer’s addiction to Character AI but still advised him to spend less time on social media.
Sewell Setzer last interacted with Daenerys when he retrieved his phone, which had been confiscated by his mother, and messaged,
“I promise I will come home to you. I love you so much, Dany.”
The boy replied,
“Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love,”
A few seconds later, Sewell Setzer took his life.
The lawsuit also named Google as a defendant since it was Character.ai’s parent company. However, Google has stated that it entered into a licensing agreement with Character.ai and did not own the startup or maintain an ownership stake.
Rick Claypool, a research director at consumer advocacy non-profit Public Citizen, stated that companies developing AI chatbots cannot be trusted to regulate themselves and should be held accountable to the last letter.
Rick Claypool stated,
“Where existing laws and regulations already apply, they must be rigorously enforced. Where there are gaps, Congress must act to put an end to businesses that exploit young and vulnerable users with addictive and abusive chatbots.”
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