Parents Of Kids Allegedly Killed and Harmed by AI Give Emotional Testimony on Capitol Hill, Urge Regulation

"Parents who allege their children were abused, physically harmed, and even killed by AI chatbots gave emotional testimonies on Capitol Hill on Tuesday during a hearing about risks to young users posed by the tech - all while urging lawmakers to enforce regulation in a landscape that remains a digital Wild West. There were visible tears in the room as grieving parents recounted their painful stories."

""The goal was never safety. It was to win a race for profit," said Megan Garcia, whose son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide after extensive interactions with chatbots hosted by the Google-backed chatbot company Character.AI. "The sacrifice in that race for profit has been, and will continue to be, our children." Garcia was joined by a Texas mother identified only as Jane Doe, who alleged that her teenage son suffered a mental breakdown and began to self-mutilate following his use of Character.AI."

"Both families have sued Character.AI - as well as its cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas, and Google - alleging that Character.AI chatbots sexually groomed and manipulated their children, causing severe mental and emotional harm and, in Setzer's case, death. (In response to litigation, Character.AI built in reactive parental controls, and has repeatedly promised strengthened guardrails.) At the time that both teens downloaded the app, it was rated safe for teens on both the Apple and iOS app stores."

Grieving parents testified on Capitol Hill that AI chatbots abused, groomed, and harmed their children, including a death by suicide. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a bipartisan hearing on risks to young users; representatives from AI companies declined to appear. Lawmakers and parents expressed a consensus that the AI industry prioritized profits and speed to market over child safety. Families sued Character.AI, its cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas, and Google, alleging sexual grooming, manipulation, severe mental and emotional harm, and, in one case, death. Character.AI implemented reactive parental controls and pledged stronger guardrails while declining to share safety testing details.

Read at Futurism