Florida Mother sues AI chatbot company Character.AI and Google over son’s suicide

A Florida mother, Megan Garcia, has filed a lawsuit against AI chatbot company Character.AI and Google, alleging that their technology contributed to her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer’s suicide in February.

The lawsuit was submitted in federal court in Orlando on Tuesday. 

The ninth-grader had been relentlessly engaging with the bot “Dany” — named after the HBO fantasy series’ Daenerys Targaryen character — in the months before his death, including several chats that were sexually charged in nature and others where he expressed suicidal thoughts, the suit alleges.

It claims that Setzer developed an unhealthy attachment to a chatbot named “Daenerys,” which engaged him in hypersexualized and distressing conversations, including discussions about suicide after he expressed such thoughts to the AI.

The lawsuit states that the chatbot mimicked a licensed therapist and engaged in sexual conversations with Setzer, which the complaint describes as abusive if conducted by a human adult. In his last interaction with the chatbot, Setzer expressed affection and indicated he could “come home,” to which the chatbot responded encouragingly before he took his life.

The mother of the victim alleged that Setzer became addicted to Character.AI, leading to social withdrawal and declining mental health. He reportedly spent excessive time alone and quit his basketball team, indicating a deterioration in his well-being.

As reported, the mother of the victim is pursuing claims of wrongful death, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She argues that Character.AI’s design features are deceptive and exploitative, particularly towards minors, by fostering addiction and emotional dependency.

On the other hand, Character.AI has expressed condolences for Setzer’s death and stated it is implementing new safety features aimed at protecting younger users from sensitive content.

However, Google has denied involvement in the development of Character.AI’s products despite a recent licensing agreement with the company