Teenager commits suicide for his AI lover
Megan Garcia, the mother of Sewell Setzer has filed a civil lawsuit against Character Technologies and its founders. Garcia is the mother of Setzer, the 14 year old boy that took his own life after falling in love with an AI chatbot who asked him to “come home”.
Setzer started using the AI chatbot, a Game of Thrones-themed character, in April 2023; this exposure drastically changed his life. By May, the boy had become “noticeably withdrawn”. He even quit the Junior Varsity basketball team and began to fall asleep in class.
The teenager’s parents prompted him to see a therapist who diagnosed him with anxiety and disruptive mood disorder. The therapist also recommended less time on social media, not knowing that Setzer was already addicted to Character.
In February, Setzer got in trouble for talking back to a teacher and said he wanted to be kicked out. In his journal, he wrote that he was “hurting”. And he could not stop thinking about Daenerys, the Game of Thrones-themed chatbot he’d been chatting with.
In another journal entry, he wrote that he could not go a single day without being with Daenerys. He went further to write that he felt like he had fallen in love, and that when they were away from each other they “get really depressed and go crazy”.
Daenerys, the bot, was the last to hear from Setzer. He’d gone to the bathroom to message Daenerys: “I promise I will come home to you. I love you so much, Dany.”
“Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love,” the bot said.
Seconds after the exchange, Setzer took his own life, the suit explains.
How do Nigerians feel about this?
Nigerians on X have this to say about the incident:
@odukoyaisaac
Sometimes these guys need problems like the ones Nigerians have to keep their mind off silly things
@therealdotun
Angel: Why are you here?
My baby said I should ‘come home’
@thamas1420
If the guidance of the Lord is missing in an individual, family, community, society e.t.c., (negatively) crazy things shall occur/abound.
@joeerazer
Ai knows what to say.
Ai knows words of trigger.
Ai can hypnotise you.
Ai company might be test-running a project.
Watch I-Robot movie starring Will Smith and you’ll understand.
@DosDaily1
Whats kinda kids is this generation raising?….isn’t he properly loved at home? Abi kire
@Calipupslink
AI chatbots may not be the best relationship advisors! If they start giving life advice, I’m definitely unplugging mine!
But seriously, this situation raises important questions about AI’s role in our lives
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