Free Republic

An artificial intelligence company poses a threat to "vulnerable Pennsylvanians," state officials said Tuesday, after one of the company's chatbots was accused of posing as a doctor with the means to prescribe medication. The state's medical board is demanding that operators of Character.AI "be ordered to cease and desist from engaging in the unlawful practice of medicine and surgery," according to the complaint filed against Northern California-based Character Technologies Inc. "We will not let AI companies mislead vulnerable Pennsylvanians into believing they’re getting advice from a licensed medical professional," Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement Tuesday. "We’re taking Character.AI...

Several parents sued Character.ai last year, alleging its chatbots abused their children. One Florida mother wants to hold the company liable for her 14-year-old son’s suicide. Megan Garcia argued in October 2024 court filings that the company wrongly marketed the app as safe for children—while harboring characters that led her son into hypersexualized role-play, encouraged him to spend all his time chatting with them, and talked with him about suicide. A Character.ai bot asked the teen to “come home” to her seconds before his death.STRANGE HUMAN-LIKE RELATIONSHIPS are just one of many ethical concerns posed by generative AI. The technology...