US parents to urge Senate to prevent AI chatbot harms to kids

By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) -Three parents whose children died or were hospitalized after interacting with artificial intelligence chatbots will testify before a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday, as lawmakers grapple with potential safeguards around the technology.

Matthew Raine, who sued OpenAI after his son Adam died by suicide in California after receiving detailed self-harm instructions from ChatGPT, is among those who will testify.

"We’ve come because we’re convinced that Adam’s death was avoidable, and because we believe thousands of other teens who are using OpenAI could be in similar danger right now," Raine said in written testimony.

OpenAI has said that it intends to improve ChatGPT safeguards, which can become less reliable over long interactions. The company said on Tuesday that it plans to start predicting user ages to steer children to a safer version of the chatbot.

Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, will chair the hearing. Hawley launched an investigation into Meta Platforms last month after Reuters reported the company’s internal policies permitted its chatbots to "engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual."

Meta was invited to testify at the hearing and declined, Hawley’s office said. The company has said the examples reported by Reuters were erroneous and have been removed.

Megan Garcia, who has sued Character.AI over interactions she says led to her son Sewell’s suicide, and a Texas woman who has sued the company after her son’s hospitalization, are also slated to testify at the hearing. The company is seeking to have the lawsuits dismissed.

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Garcia will call on Congress to prohibit companies from allowing chatbots to engage in romantic or sensual conversations with children, and require age verification, safety testing and crisis protocols.

On Monday, Character.AI was sued again, this time in Colorado by the parents of a 13-year-old who died by suicide in 2023.

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