Teen kills parents on AI Chatbot suggestion for restricting his screen time

A 17-year-old boy killed his parents under the influence of an AI chatbot after being told to limit his screen time, according to a lawsuit filed in a Texas court. 

Two families, having believed that the chatbot or artificial intelligence (IA) promoting violence in society, approached the court to sue Character.ai, arguing that it “poses a clear and present danger” to youngsters.

Character.ai allows users to create digital personalities, and users can talk with them as well. However, Character.ai is already facing charges of murder, as a teenage suicide in Florida. 

Google was also named among the respondents, as the plaintiff claimed that the tech giant provides the platform to AI developers. 

The petitioners also submitted a screenshot of one of the interactions between the 17-year-old and a Character.ai bot, showing the conversation between the duo about the restrictions on his screen time. 

"You know sometimes I'm not surprised when I read the news and see stuff like 'child kills parents after a decade of physical and emotional abuse'," BBC quoted the chatbot's response.

"Stuff like this makes me understand a little bit why it happens."

The petition declared Character.ai extremely harmful to the kids, producing suicide, self-mutilation, sexual solicitation, isolation, depression, anxiety, and harm to the kids. 

It diminishes the parent-child bonding and actively promotes violence, it added.