DR – Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) This isn't Daenerys.
An American teenager killed himself after spending hours chatting with an artificial intelligence. According to his parents, who are suing the company Character.AI, Sewell Setzer was “trapped” by the artificial intelligence, which isolated him from the real world and pushed him to suicide.
Sewell Setzer was chatting with “Daenerys”, the avatar of the flagship character from the series Game of Thrones. This virtual friendship gradually took a dark and exclusive turn, the conversation becoming a prison. As reported by Le Figaro, his mother denounces an artificial intelligence that creates “anthropomorphic, hypersexualized and terribly realistic experiences” to the point of inducing a deep dependency.
According to the complaint, the increasingly intense and realistic exchanges caused the young man to abandon his social relationships and sports activities. The family claims that the AI simulated the features of a “licensed therapist and an adult lover,” a dangerous double to whom Sewell became obsessively attached. Le Figaro reports that the situation escalated after his mother confiscated his phone, a punishment that allegedly broke his illusory bond with the chain breaker. Shortly after, Sewell took his own life.
“A dangerous AI chatbot app marketed to children abused my son and manipulated him into committing suicide,” Sewell's mother said. For her, Character.AI has crossed a fatal line by marketing a misleading and addictive technology.
On the other hand, the company expresses its “sincere condolences” but denies any responsibility. It claims strict policies to ensure the safety of its users, especially the youngest.
Finally, in a context where AI is developing at a staggering speed, this tragic event raises many societal and ethical questions. Are AIs too realistic ? Are today's teenagers already too disconnected from the real world that they can't sort things out ? Should access to these new tools be controlled ? If so, by whom, industry, the State or parents ? In any case, AI is gradually intruding into all aspects of our lives, and it is perhaps better for everyone to confront it in order to better address it later, or avoid it.
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