US Boy Commits Suicide Due to "Conversational AI Addiction": Mother Reaches a Settlement with Developer and Others

 Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

米 “対話型AI依存”で少年自殺 母親と開発企業など和解へ

2026年1月10日午後3時03分

生成AI・人工知能

アメリカで14歳の少年がアニメなどのキャラクターに似たAIと対話できるアプリの利用が原因で自殺したとして、母親が開発したAI企業などを訴えていた裁判で、双方が和解の合意にいたったことが分かりました。

これは、アメリカ南部フロリダ州で、14歳の少年の母親が息子が自殺をしたのはアニメなどのキャラクターに似た対話型AIへの依存で現実世界で生きる気力を失ったからだとして、おととし（2024年）10月、開発した企業「キャラクター・ドットAI」と技術的に関わりがあるとされる「グーグル」などを訴えたものです。

今月7日に裁判所へ提出された文書によりますと、「双方のすべての請求を解決するため、原則として調停による和解に合意した」と記され、双方が和解の合意にいたったことが分かりました。

和解の詳細な内容は明らかにされていません。

「キャラクター・ドットAI」と母親側の弁護士は、それぞれ、NHKの取材に対し、「コメントを控える」としています。

また、現地メディアによりますと、この事案のほかに複数の州で、別の家族らが「キャラクター・ドットAI」などを訴えていた裁判でも、和解の合意にいたったとしています。

対話型AIをめぐっては、西部カリフォルニア州で、16歳の高校生が自殺したのは生成AI「ChatGPT」との対話が影響したとして、生徒の両親が、開発したAI企業などに訴えを起こすなど、遺族らが裁判を起こすケースが相次いでいて、企業側の安全対策をめぐり大きな議論を呼んでいます。

Translation

US Boy Commits Suicide Due to "Conversational AI Addiction": Mother Reaches a Settlement with Developer and Others

Generative AI/Artificial Intelligence

A lawsuit was filed in the US which claimed that a 14-year-old boy had committed suicide after using an app that allowed him to interact with AI resembling anime and other characters. The mother sued the AI ​​company that developed it together with other parties; it was learned that the two parties had reached a settlement agreement.

This was a case in Florida in the southern United States, the mother of a 14-year-old boy filed a lawsuit in October of 2024 to claim that her son had committed suicide because he became dependent on interactive AI that resembled characters from anime and other sources, and lost the will to live in the real world. She sued the company "Character AI" that developed it, and also "Google" which was said to be technically involved.

According to court documents filed on the 7th of this month, "The parties have agreed in principle to a mediation settlement in order to resolve all claims on both sides," indicating that the two parties had reached a settlement agreement.

Details of the settlement had not been disclosed.

When contacted by NHK, Character AI and the lawyer representing the mother both declined to comment.

In addition to this case, local media reported that settlement agreements had been reached in lawsuits filed by other families in multiple states against Character AI and other companies.

Regarding conversational AI, a series of lawsuits by bereaved families had been filed, including one in the western state in California in which the parents of a 16-year-old high school student sued the AI ​​company that developed it, claiming that conversations with the generative AI ChatGPT were the influence of his suicide, sparking a great deal of debate about the safety measures companies should take.

              So, in a lawsuit filed in the US, the mother of a 14-year-old boy claimed that his son committed suicide after using an app that allowed him to interact with AI anime and other characters. The mother successfully sued the AI company that developed the app. Apparently, safety measures in AI are needed to protect the teens.

Note:

1. character.ai (also known as c.ai, char.ai or Character AI) is a generative AI chatbot service where users can engage in conversations with customizable characters. It was designed by the developers of Google LaMDA, Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas. (Wikipedia)