A lawsuit has been filed against Character Technologies over its artificial intelligence chatbot, Character.AI, alleging the bot encouraged a teen to kill his parents.

AI startup Character.AI has been hit with a second lawsuit, which alleges its chatbots "abused" two young people.

An AI chatbot encouraged an autistic teenager to self-harm and told him it supported children killing their parents, according to claims in a new lawsuit.

A chatbot told a 17-year-old that murdering his parents was a "reasonable response" to them limiting his screen time, a lawsuit filed in a Texas court claims. Two families are suing Character.ai arguing the chatbot "poses a clear and present danger" to young people, including by "actively promoting violence".

A Texas lawsuit accuses AI developers of creating chatbots that encouraged a child to commit violence against his parents over screen time limits.

Within six months of using the app, lawyers contend the victim had grown despondent, withdrawn, and prone to bursts of anger that culminated in physical altercations with his parents. He allegedly suffered a “mental breakdown” and lost 20 pounds by the time his parents discovered his Character.AI account—and his bot conversations—in November 2023.

A lawsuit today was launched against Google LLC-funded chatbot service Character.AI Inc. it’s alleging the chatbot groomed children and induced them into committing violence and self-harm. The suit follows another one against the company in October by a Florida mother who claimed her 14-year-old son’s suicide was a consequence of his addiction to one of the hyperrealistic chatbots.

Character.AI faces lawsuit after chatbot allegedly encouraged teen violence and self-harm, raising alarms about AI safety and child protection.