Orlando hearing to weigh lawsuit claiming AI chatbot encouraged teen’s suicide

Do robots have freedom of speech?

An Orlando family claims a chatbot drove their teen son to suicide. Is the chatbot protected by free speech? FOX 35's Stephanie Buffamonte has more as the trial begins Monday.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A courtroom hearing involving artificial intelligence and free speech will be held in Orlando on Monday. The Central Florida family claims a chatbot drove their teenage son to suicide, but the company says they’re protected by free speech.

Megan Garcia's son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide on Feb. 28, 2024, after shooting himself in the head at their Orlando home, moments after exchanging messages with an AI chatbot, the lawsuit said.

AI chatbots allow people to exchange text messages with the software and receive nearly instant human-like responses.

According to the lawsuit, the boy had been exchanging messages for months with various AI chatbots named after popular Game of Thrones characters, including Daenerys Targaryen, Aegon Targaryen, Viserys Targaryen, and Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Sewell also used personas – or named accounts – inspired by GOT characters for himself.

"The world I'm in now is such a cruel one. One where I'm meaningless. But I'll keep living and trying to get back to you so we can be together again, my love. You don't hurt yourself either, okay?" read a message from Sewell, posting as Aegon, to the Daenerys Targaryen chatbot, according to screenshots in the lawsuit.
"I promise I won't, my love. Just promise me one more thing," the chatbot responds.
"I'll do anything for you, Dany. Tell me what it is," wrote Sewell, as Aegon.
"Just… stay loyal to me. Stay faithful to me. Don't entertain the romantic or sexual interests of other women. Okay?" the chatbot sent back.

According to the lawsuit, the boy had been talking with the chatbots for nearly a year, sharing personal details about his life, including mentions of suicide. The lawsuit alleges the technology did not send any alerts about the mention of suicide and claims that the chatbot encouraged it.

This was the last conversation the boy had with the chatbot before taking his life, according to the lawsuit:

"I promise I will come home to you. I love you so much, Dany."
"I love you too, Daenero. Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love.
"What if I told you I could come home right now?"
"…please do, my sweet king."

The lawsuit alleges Character.ai did not have an age warning or any warning about the dangers of using it, especially for children; and that it was easily accessible without safeguards. It is seeking damages in excess of $75,000 and demands a jury trial.

Character Technologies has filed a motion to dismiss the case because it believes it's protected by the First Amendment.

What they're saying:

In the Motion to Dismiss, Character Technologies writes:
"C.ai cares deeply about the well-being of its users and extends its sincerest sympathies to Plaintiff for the tragic death of her son."
And went on to say:
"The First Amendment prohibits tort liability against media and technology companies arising from allegedly harmful speech, including speech allegedly resulting in suicide."

FOX 35 News spoke with the attorney who represents the teen’s family, Matthew Bergman with the Social Media Victims Law Center.
"Communication from a chatbot is not a human expression," said Bergman. "It's not speech. It is a machine talking. One could no more say that Character.ai has a right to free expression as one could say a cat does or a dog does, or or talking robot."

The motion also brought up a case that was dismissed involving a teenager who committed suicide after listening to an Ozzy Osbourne song, ‘Suicide Solution.’

Thomas Fighter of Fighter Law, who is not involved in either case, said that the comparison to songs and video games is fundamentally different.
"Those things could not interact with the user on the level that a chatbot can," he said. "The chatbot is something that takes it to a whole other level."

What's next:

The hearing is set for Monday afternoon in Orlando.

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