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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Blake Montgomery

Mother says AI chatbot led her son to kill himself in lawsuit against its maker

Megan Garcia Sewell Setzer Sewell Setzer III CharacterAI Lawsuit Character Google United States
a women and young boy smile in selfie
Megan Garcia and her son Sewell Setzer. Photograph: Social Media Victims Law Center

The mother of a teenager who killed himself after becoming obsessed with an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot now accuses its maker of complicity in his death.

Megan Garcia filed a civil suit against Character.ai, which makes a customizable chatbot for role-playing, in Florida federal court on Wednesday, alleging negligence, wrongful death and deceptive trade practices. Her son Sewell Setzer III, 14, died in Orlando, Florida, in February. In the months leading up to his death, Setzer used the chatbot day and night, according to Garcia.

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