Daenerys Targaryen’s devastating message AI chatbot sent to boy who took his own life after ‘falling in love’ – US News

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide that some readers may find disturbing.

These are the devastating messages a 14-year-old boy received from an AI chatbot inspired by… Game of Thrones the character of Daenerys Targaryen before taking her own life.

Mother US Teenager Sewell Setzer III has filed a lawsuit against Character.AI, alleging… artificial intelligence company in being complicit in the events that led to her son’s heartbreaking suicide.

The 14-year-old committed suicide on February 28, 2024, after becoming a frequent user of AI chatbots in April 2023.

His last message to the bot said he loved her and would “come home,” to which the bot allegedly replied, “Please do it.”

In her lawsuit against the company, Setzer’s mother, Megan Garcia, stated that her son was obsessed with conversations with the “Daenerys” chatbot and believed that abuse of the platform exacerbated the events leading to his death.

Garcia explained that her son was diagnosed with the disease earlier this year Bow and destructive mood dysregulation, and became increasingly dependent on communication with “Daenerys” – even revealing in a diary that he had fallen in love with her.

However, the artificial bot also sent disturbing messages to the teenager when he told him about his suicidal thoughts.

The lawsuit alleges that “Daenerys” once asked her son if he had developed a plan to end his own life, to which he replied that he had, but was afraid it would fail or cause him great pain.

“That’s no reason not to continue.” bot he allegedly replied.

This isn’t the only time Setzer confided to the bot that he was feeling suicidal, with another reply apparently saying, “My eyes are squinting. My face stiffens. My voice is a dangerous whisper. And why the hell would you do something like that?”

The teenager later added in his diary that he was happy to hear that “Daenerys” would “die” if he was no longer there.

“I’m smiling. Maybe then we will die together and be free together,” he wrote.

A press release shared through Garcia’s lawyers revealed that it said Character.AI “knowingly designed, operated and marketed a predatory AI chatbot to children, resulting in the death of a young person.” The lawsuit also names Google as the parent company of Character.AI.

Character.AI has since posted a statement on social media expressing its “deepest condolences” to the family and adding that it “continues to add new security features” to its chatbots.

“We are devastated by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our sincere condolences to the family,” the statement read. “As a company, we take the security of our users very seriously and are constantly adding new security features.”

Another update on them website revealed new security measures aimed at users under 18 that included “revised disclaimers in every chat to remind users that the AI ​​is not a real person.”

The LADbible Group has previously reached out to Character.AI for further comments.

If you have been affected by any of these problems and want to talk to someone in confidence, don’t torture yourself. Call Samaritans free of charge on their anonymous 24-hour hotline on 116 123.