Mother Sues Google, AI Firm Over Teen's Death

Megan Garcia has filed a lawsuit against Google and Character Technologies, blaming them for her 14-year-old son's suicide, which she claims was influenced by interactions with a chatbot on Character.AI. Garcia's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and demands warnings about the platform's unsuitability for minors. The case highlights concerns about the safety of generative AI for young users and its legal implications for tech companies. Google, which invested $2.7 billion in Character.AI, is also accused of using the startup to test the impact of human-like bots on users, despite its public claims of separation. An internal paper from Google's DeepMind researchers had previously warned of the potential dangers of such AI technologies, highlighting the risk of manipulation and suicide. Both companies are seeking dismissal of the claims, arguing there is no legal basis for the allegations.