{"id":118483,"date":"2024-10-26T06:25:52","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T23:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=118483"},"modified":"2024-10-26T06:25:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T23:25:52","slug":"ai-chatbot-pushed-teen-to-kill-himself-lawsuit-alleges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=118483","title":{"rendered":"AI chatbot pushed teen to kill himself, lawsuit alleges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) \u2014 In the final moments before he took his own life, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III took out his phone and messaged the chatbot that had become his closest friend.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 show \u201cGame of Thrones.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>___<\/h2>\n<p> EDITOR\u2019S NOTE \u2014 This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.<\/p>\n<h2>___<\/h2>\n<p>On Feb. 28, Sewell told the bot he was \u2018coming home\u2019 \u2014 and it encouraged him to do so, the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI promise I will come home to you. I love you so much, Dany,\u201d Sewell told the chatbot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love you too,\u201d the bot replied. \u201cPlease come home to me as soon as possible, my love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if I told you I could come home right now?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease do, my sweet king,\u201d the bot messaged back.<\/p>\n<p>Just seconds after the Character.AI bot told him to \u201ccome home,\u201d the teen shot himself, according to the lawsuit, filed this week by Sewell\u2019s mother, Megan Garcia, of Orlando, against Character Technologies Inc.<\/p>\n<p>Character Technologies is the company behind Character.AI, an app that allows users to create customizable characters or interact with those generated by others, spanning experiences from imaginative play to mock job interviews. The company says the artificial personas are designed to \u201cfeel alive\u201d and \u201chuman-like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImagine speaking to super intelligent and life-like chat bot Characters that hear you, understand you and remember you,\u201d reads a description for the app on Google Play. \u201cWe encourage you to push the frontier of what\u2019s possible with this innovative technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Garcia\u2019s attorneys allege the company engineered a highly addictive and dangerous product targeted specifically to kids, \u201cactively exploiting and abusing those children as a matter of product design,\u201d and pulling Sewell into an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that if Sewell Setzer had not been on Character.AI, he would be alive today,\u201d said Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, which is representing Garcia.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Character.AI said Friday that the company doesn\u2019t comment on pending litigation. In a blog post published the day the lawsuit was filed, the platform announced new \u201ccommunity safety updates,\u201d including guardrails for children and suicide prevention resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are creating a different experience for users under 18 that includes a more stringent model to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content,\u201d the company said in a statement to The Associated Press. \u201cWe are working quickly to implement those changes for younger users.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Google and its parent company, Alphabet, have also been named as defendants in the lawsuit. According to legal filings, the founders of Character.AI are former Google employees who were \u201cinstrumental\u201d in AI development at the company, but left to launch their own startup to \u201cmaximally accelerate\u201d the technology.<\/p>\n<p>In August, Google struck a $2.7 billion deal with Character.AI to license the company\u2019s technology and rehire the startup\u2019s founders, the lawsuit claims. The AP left multiple email messages with Google and Alphabet on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>In the months leading up to his death, Garcia\u2019s lawsuit says, Sewell felt he had fallen in love with the bot.<\/p>\n<p>While unhealthy attachments to AI chatbots can cause problems for adults, for young people it can be even riskier \u2014 as with social media \u2014 because their brain is not fully developed when it comes to things such as impulse control and understanding the consequences of their actions, experts say.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/health-california-department-of-education-california-education-depression-c241b8ee0274d6abf946254e3eb8fbf4\">Youth mental health<\/a><\/span> has reached <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/mental-health-crisis-schools-768fed6a4e71d694ec0694c627d8fdca\">crisis levels<\/a><\/span> in recent years, according to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who has warned of the serious health risks of social disconnection and isolation \u2014 trends he says are made worse by young people\u2019s near universal use of social media.<\/p>\n<p>Suicide is the second leading cause of death among kids ages 10 to 14, according to data released this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n<p>James Steyer, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Common Sense Media, said the lawsuit \u201cunderscores the growing influence \u2014 and severe harm \u2014 that generative AI chatbot companions can have on the lives of young people when there are no guardrails in place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kids\u2019 overreliance on AI companions, he added, can have significant effects on grades, friends, sleep and stress, \u201call the way up to the extreme tragedy in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis lawsuit serves as a wake-up call for parents, who should be vigilant about how their children interact with these technologies,\u201d Steyer said.<\/p>\n<p>Common Sense Media, which issues <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commonsensemedia.org\/articles\/parents-ultimate-guide-to-ai-companions-and-relationships\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">guides for parents<\/a><\/span> 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChatbots are not licensed therapists or best friends, even though that\u2019s how they are packaged and marketed, and parents should be cautious of letting their children place too much trust in them,\u201d Steyer said.<\/p>\n<h2>___<\/h2>\n<p>Associated Press reporter Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco contributed to this report. Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press\/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reportforamerica.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Report for America<\/a><\/span> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n              appId : '870613919693099',\n          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };\n  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/chatbot-ai-lawsuit-suicide-teen-artificial-intelligence-9d48adc572100822fdbc3c90d1456bd0\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) \u2014 In the final moments before he took his own life, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III took out his phone and messaged the chatbot that had become his &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=118483\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=118483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118483\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=118483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=118483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=118483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}