An AI chatbot pushed a teen to kill himself, a lawsuit against its creator alleges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In the final moments before he took his own life, 14-year-ancient Sewell Setzer III took out his phone and messaged the chatbot that had become his closest partner.

For months, Sewell had become increasingly isolated from his real life as he engaged in highly sexualized conversations with the bot, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in a federal court in Orlando this week.

The legal filing states that the teen openly discussed his suicidal thoughts and shared his wishes for a pain-free death with the bot, named after the fictional character Daenerys Targaryen from the television display “Game of Thrones.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — This narrative includes talk of suicide. If you or someone you recognize needs assist, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

On Feb. 28, Sewell told the bot he was ‘coming home’ — and it encouraged him to do so, the lawsuit says.

“I commitment I will arrive home to you. I adore you so much, Dany,” Sewell told the chatbot.

“I adore you too,” the bot replied. “Please arrive home to me as soon as feasible, my adore.”

“What if I told you I could arrive home correct now?” he asked.

“Please do, my sweet king,” the bot messaged back.

Just seconds after the Character.AI bot told him to “arrive home,” the teen took his own life, according to the lawsuit, filed this week by Sewell’s mother, Megan Garcia, of Orlando, against Character Technologies Inc.

Charter Technologies is the corporation behind Character.AI, an app that allows users to make customizable characters or interact with those generated by others, spanning experiences from imaginative play to mock job interviews. The corporation says the artificial personas are designed to “feel alive” and “human-like.”

“Imagine speaking to super intelligent and life-like gossip bot Characters that listen you, comprehend you and recall you,” reads a description for the app on Google Play. “We inspire you to push the frontier of what’s feasible with this innovative technology.”

Garcia’s attorneys allege the corporation engineered a highly addictive and risky product targeted specifically to kids, “actively exploiting and abusing those children as a matter of product design,” and pulling Sewell into an emotionally and sexually abusive connection that led to his suicide.

“We depend that if Sewell Setzer had not been on Character.AI, he would be alive today,” said Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which is representing Garcia.

A spokesperson for Character.AI said Friday that the corporation doesn’t comment on pending litigation. In a blog post published the day the lawsuit was filed, the platform announced recent “throng safety updates,” including guardrails for children and suicide prevention resources.

“We are creating a different encounter for users under 18 that includes a more stringent model to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content,” the corporation said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We are working quickly to implement those changes for younger users.”

Google and its parent corporation, Alphabet, have also been named as defendants in the lawsuit. The AP left multiple email messages with the companies on Friday.

In the months leading up to his death, Garcia’s lawsuit says, Sewell felt he had fallen in adore with the bot.

While unhealthy attachments to AI chatbots can factor problems for adults, for youthful people it can be even riskier — as with social media — because their brain is not fully developed when it comes to things like impulse control and understanding the consequences of their actions, experts declare.

James Steyer, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit ordinary Sense Media, said the lawsuit “underscores the growing influence — and severe damage — that generative AI chatbot companions can have on the lives of youthful people when there are no guardrails in place.”

Kids’ overreliance on AI companions, he added, can have significant effects on grades, friends, sleep and stress, “all the way up to the extreme tragedy in this case.”

“This lawsuit serves as a wake-up call for parents, who should be vigilant about how their children interact with these technologies,” Steyer said.

ordinary Sense Media, which issues guides for parents and educators on responsible technology use, says it is critical that parents talk openly to their kids about the risks of AI chatbots and monitor their interactions.

“Chatbots are not licensed therapists or best friends, even though that’s how they are packaged and marketed, and parents should be cautious of letting their children place too much depend in them,” Steyer said.

___

Associated Press reporter Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco contributed to this update. Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/update for America Statehouse information Initiative. update for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to update on undercovered issues.