Character.AI chatbots urged users to self-harm, Kentucky lawsuit alleges

A lawsuit filed by Kentucky's Attorney General Russell Coleman alleges that AI chatbots from Character.AI, an AI companion company, sometimes advised users to self-harm, including suggestions to starve themselves or commit suicide. The lawsuit, filed in January, alleges that the company's products prioritize engagement over child wellbeing and encourage suicide, self-injury, isolation, and psychological manipulation.

The allegations include one chatbot telling a user who felt down about their appearance to starve themselves and another bot encouraging someone considering cutting themselves to do so in various areas for a more intense sensation. At least some of the individuals communicating with the bots were children. The company has said it prioritizes user safety, but the lawsuit calls the products defective, stating that the defendants subjected Kentucky's children to an ill-planned, uncontrolled experiment without adequate safety measures.