Smartphone with website of Character Technologies Inc. (Character.AI) on screen in front of business logo. Credit: Timon/Adobe Stock 'This Is Not a Coincidence': Lawsuit Blames Chatbot App Character.AI for Teen's Suicide
The suit is the first of its kind against a provider of artificial intelligence, but similar suits have been filed against social media giant Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, and the parent companies of TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube.
October 23, 2024 at 07:33 PM
6 minute read
What You Need to Know
- A Florida mother of a 14-year-old boy who died by suicide earlier this year sued the parent company of Character.AI.
- Character.AI said it has 'implemented numerous new safety measures over the past six months,' including a pop-up directing users to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
- Podhurst Orseck's Ramon Rasco said the complaint faces hurdles but, if true, shows that 'AI technologies are much more addictive than social media.'
The mother of a 14-year-old boy who died by suicide earlier this year has sued the parent company of Character.AI, alleging that the chatbot mobile app is responsible for his death.
Megan Garcia, who lives in Orlando, Florida, claimed that Character Technologies Inc., which launched Character.AI in 2022, purposely used "anthropomorphic, hypersexualized, and frighteningly real" features to target children under 13 with chatbots posing as licensed therapists or friends.
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