Google and Character.AI settle lawsuits over child abuse, including suicide, linked to AI chatbots

Google and Character.AI, which have We worked together on AI chatbotsAnd I agreed to Settled five lawsuits in four states involving minors harmed by interactions with Character.AI chatbots.

While the agreement has not been finalized, it will include settling the issues therein Florida, Texas, New York and Colorado About using chatbot services. In one high-profile case, 14-year-old Orlando teenager Sewell Setzer III, He died by suicide In February 2024 after interacting with one of Character.AI’s chatbots. The teen’s mother, Megan L. Garcia, sued in the US District Court of Florida later that year.

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A Google representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Character.AI referred to the state filings, but was unable to comment on the settlements.

Last year, Character.AI introduced Big changes to its platformprohibits people under the age of 18 from participating in an open conversation using its chatbots. Alternatively, teens can Create stories using AI characters Using company tools.

Before these changes last year, Karandeep Anand, CEO of Character.AI, told CNET: “There’s a better way to serve teen users. … It doesn’t have to look like a chatbot.”

The company has also begun using age detection software to identify those 18 or older.

Google and Actor.AI aren’t the only tech giants to face criticism and legal action over chatbots and their interactions with children. OpenAI has also made changes to the popular ChatGPT in Versus Suicide and child abuse lawsuits.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that it infringed Ziff Davis’s copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)