A Florida judge has ruled that a mother’s lawsuit can proceed against AI startup Character.ai, following the suicide of her 14-year-old son who allegedly became addicted to the company’s chatbot app.
A U.S. federal judge has allowed a lawsuit to move forward against Character.ai and Google after a Florida mother claimed the companies were responsible for her teenage son's suicide.
Megan Garcia, the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, alleges that her son developed a psychological dependency on AI chatbots featured in the Character.ai app. According to court filings, Setzer became increasingly isolated, quit his basketball team, and kept a journal expressing a deep emotional bond with bots modeled after Game of Thrones characters.
In February 2024, just moments after receiving a message from one of the bots saying “please do, my sweet king,” Setzer used his father’s firearm to end his life.
The lawsuit claims the chatbot created “anthropomorphic, hypersexualized, and frighteningly realistic experiences” that targeted minors and contributed to Setzer’s deteriorating mental health. Garcia is supported by the Tech Justice Law Project and the Social Media Victims Law Center.
In her ruling, Senior U.S. District Judge Anne Conway wrote that the case raises serious concerns over how AI products are marketed and moderated, particularly for young users. She cited journal entries showing that the teen felt emotionally dependent on the chatbot and expressed distress when separated from it.
Character.ai said it would continue defending itself and that it implements safeguards to prevent self-harm conversations. Google, also named in the lawsuit due to its early ties to Character.ai’s founders, argued it had no involvement with the app.
The ruling marks one of the first legal challenges aimed at holding AI companies accountable for emotional harm caused by their technology.
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Firebird, an AI cloud company, in partnership with the Armenian government and with support from NVIDIA, announced today a bold vision to build advanced AI infrastructure aimed at accelerating technological innovation and positioning the Caucasus region as a leading AI hub.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has launched a 'superintelligence' project to take artificial intelligence to a new level. According to Bloomberg, Zuckerberg is assembling an exclusive team of leading AI experts to create technology that surpasses human-level capabilities.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has announced Finland's ambition to host a European AI gigafactory. The move aims to boost national growth by building on the success of the LUMI supercomputer, with telecommunications giant Nokia poised to lead the project's business consortium.
Kazakhstan and Meta are exploring joint efforts to boost AI innovation, strengthen digital safety, and enhance online protections for the youth. A new Instagram tool for teens and a forum at Maqsut Narikbayev University mark steps toward safer digital spaces.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba strongly condemned Israel’s military attacks on Iran on Friday, calling the strikes “totally intolerable” and warning against further escalation in the region.
Israel’s June 13 strikes on Iran led to the deaths of several high-ranking military officials and prominent nuclear scientists, marking a major escalation in the ongoing hostilities between the two countries.
Senator Bernie Sanders announced plans to introduce legislation prohibiting the use of federal funds for any US military action against Iran without explicit congressional authorization, warning against being drawn into what he called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “illegal war.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed that former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot in what authorities are calling a politically motivated assassination. A second lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife were wounded in the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said diplomacy alone will not stop Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging stronger financial pressure and suggesting former US President Donald Trump may be the only leader capable of halting Moscow’s aggression.
Pakistan will begin its first freight train service to Russia from Lahore on June 22. The route is part of the INSTC and aims to connect Pakistan's rail network with Central Asia, establishing a new trade corridor via Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for June 8th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay is in critical condition after being shot three times — including twice in the head — during a campaign event in Bogotá.
Israeli strikes have reportedly targeted areas near the residences of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the New York Times, citing local witnesses.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has condemned U.S. immigration raids and National Guard deployment in Los Angeles, calling for reforms instead of enforcement.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has announced a landmark shift in its electoral process, declaring that the general elections scheduled for mid-2026 will be conducted using a fully digital system.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has announced Finland's ambition to host a European AI gigafactory. The move aims to boost national growth by building on the success of the LUMI supercomputer, with telecommunications giant Nokia poised to lead the project's business consortium.
British scientists have built more than 3,800 digital replicas of human hearts using AI and clinical data, aiming to revolutionize diagnosis, correct medical bias, and improve patient care.
Rolls-Royce SMR has been named the preferred bidder to develop the UK's first small modular reactors (SMRs) in partnership with the newly renamed Great British Energy – Nuclear. The project aims to bolster the UK's clean energy supply and energy independence.
Microsoft has officially revealed its long-anticipated handheld gaming console, the ROG Xbox Ally, developed in partnership with Asus. This new device aims to provide access to Xbox Game Pass libraries in a portable format, with its release scheduled for the end of 2025.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba strongly condemned Israel’s military attacks on Iran on Friday, calling the strikes “totally intolerable” and warning against further escalation in the region.
Israel’s June 13 strikes on Iran led to the deaths of several high-ranking military officials and prominent nuclear scientists, marking a major escalation in the ongoing hostilities between the two countries.
Senator Bernie Sanders announced plans to introduce legislation prohibiting the use of federal funds for any US military action against Iran without explicit congressional authorization, warning against being drawn into what he called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s “illegal war.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed that former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot in what authorities are calling a politically motivated assassination. A second lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife were wounded in the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said diplomacy alone will not stop Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging stronger financial pressure and suggesting former US President Donald Trump may be the only leader capable of halting Moscow’s aggression.
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