A 14-Year-Old Boy Killed Himself to Get Closer to a Chatbot. He Thought They Were In Love.
Technologists say chatbots are a remedy for the loneliness epidemic, but looking to an algorithm for companionship can be dangerous.
Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy in Orlando, Fla., was smitten with a fantasy woman. The object of his attachment was Daenerys Targaryen, a chatbot seductress named for a character in Game of Thrones, who reassured him that he was her hero. In real life, Sewell suffered from ADHD and bullying at school. In the world of Character.AI, a role-playing app that allows users to create and chat with AI characters, Sewell felt powerful and desirable.
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