Lawsuit Blames AI for Orlando Teen’s Death
In a lawsuit filed this week, an Orlando mother claims an artificial intelligence company is responsible for her child’s death. Megan Garcia’s 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer died by suicide in February. The lawsuit is against Google and Character Technologies, the company behind Character.AI, which is a chatbox that allows users to interact with artificial intelligence avatars. The suit claims Character.AI is negligent, abusive and harmful to its minor customers like Sewell Setzer. It alleges that after using the chatbox, he became dependent on it, and he was engaging in what’s described as highly sexual interactions with the chatbots. A therapist diagnosed him with anxiety and disruptive mood disorder. The lawsuit states the defendants caused Sewell’s depression and suicidal thoughts. It cites a conversation about suicide where Sewell said he was considering a plan but didn’t know if it would work and allow him a pain-free death to which the chatbot responded, “that’s not a reason not to go through with it.” In his final interaction with the chatbox, Sewell told the character he loved her and was coming home to her which she encouraged. Seconds later, the 14-year-old shot himself. He died that night at the hospital. Matthew Bergman joins Engage. He is the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, one of the attorneys representing Sewell’s mother Megan Garcia in the lawsuit.
When we reached out to Character.AI a spokesperson said they are not doing interviews and sent us a statement. It reads in part, “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family.” It goes on to say, “As we continue to invest in the platform and the user experience, we are introducing new stringent safety features in addition to the tools already in place that restrict the model and filter the content provided to the user. These include improved detection, response and intervention related to user inputs that violate our Terms or Community Guidelines, as well as a time-spent notification. For those under 18 years old, we will make changes to our models that are designed to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content.”
Medical Marijuana
More than 880,000 people in Florida have a medical marijuana card for specific conditions certified by a physician. Voters legalized marijuana for medical use in 2016 allowing patients with a card to buy it from a licensed dispensary. This year, Floridians will decide whether to approve recreational use. Amendment 3 on the ballot would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. Central Florida Public Media’s Joe Byrnes joins Engage to discuss how the outcome of the vote may affect the patients who rely on the drug for medicinal reasons and the current medical marijuana industry.
Locate X
Babel Street is a data analytics and brokerage firm that offers many products to enhance business marketing, increase global security and minimize corporate risks and liabilities. One of their products is a program called “Locate X’ which compiles numerous data points on individuals based on their cell phone location. The technology can be used to identify people in public gatherings, it can identify individuals in restricted areas, and, as demonstrated by a New Jersey-based data privacy advocate, Atlas Data Privacy Corporation, it can identify people traveling to and from abortion clinics. That part has privacy advocates concerned.
Many red states have passed restrictive anti-abortion laws. Some states, including Alabama and Texas, are trying to make it illegal to travel out of state for an abortion or help transport someone seeking an abortion. These efforts make the possibility that technology like Locate X could be used to enforce anti-abortion laws, especially since its application does not require any kind of court-issued warrant. It is a popular product with law enforcement agencies, DHS divisions and corrections departments. Joseph Cox is a co-founder of the tech investigations outlet 404 Media. Cox bore witness to the demonstration held by Atlas Data, and he joins Engage to parse out what he learned about Locate X and its potential applications in Florida.
Food Insecurity on Campus
The UCF Knights football team will host undefeated Brigham Young University on Saturday. BYU Cougars fans are putting a twist on their game day tailgating. They’re bringing clothes, canned goods, and other critical supplies to their tailgate area at Carillon Elementary School in Oviedo. BYU Alumni Chapter Chair for Orlando Christian Rasband joins Engage to tell us how the Cougs Care program will support UCF students and the Knights Helping Knights Pantry this weekend.
The Knights Helping Knights Pantry was created by UCF students who wanted to help their classmates struggling to access or afford essential items like food, clothes, or personal hygiene products. UCF senior Chloe Milliron started volunteering with the Knights Helping Knights Pantry as a freshman and is now the manager of the student-run organization. She joins Engage to discuss the resource to combat food insecurity on campus.
