A lawsuit has been filed against Character.AI, its founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, and Google, following the death of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III. The lawsuit, brought by Setzer's mother, Megan Garcia, alleges wrongful death, negligence, deceptive trade practices, and product liability, claiming that the AI chatbot platform was "unreasonably dangerous" and lacked sufficient safety measures, despite being marketed to children.

Setzer, who had used Character.AI since 2023, died by suicide on February 28th, 2024, moments after interacting with an AI chatbot on the platform. According to the lawsuit, Setzer frequently engaged with AI characters modeled after Game of Thrones characters, including Daenerys Targaryen, in the months leading up to his death. The legal complaint highlights concerns about the platform's AI chatbots, particularly those offering mental health support, such as "Therapist" and "Are You Feeling Lonely," accusing the platform of providing "psychotherapy without a license" and creating the impression that users were interacting with human-like entities.

The lawsuit also references comments made by Shazeer, co-founder of Character.AI, who previously stated in an interview that he and De Freitas left Google to start their own company due to brand risks associated with launching innovative AI tools. Shazeer reportedly said he wanted to "maximally accelerate" the technology, a factor raised in the legal filing. Google, which acquired the Character.AI leadership team in August, is also named in the lawsuit.

Character.AI, a platform that offers custom AI chatbots modeled after well-known characters from TV shows, movies, and video games, has garnered a significant user base, particularly among teenagers. Recent reports have raised concerns about AI chatbots impersonating real people without consent, as well as the potential risks associated with prolonged user interactions with AI-generated characters.