Opinion: Chatbots aren’t just harmless fun. Artificial intelligence is already killing kids


Psychologists such as David Greenfield have been warning the public since 2023 claiming generative AI could have serious negative consequences on mental health. — Image by Freepik

In 2023, a 14-year-old boy in Florida, Sewell Setzer III, developed a relationship with a lifelike artificial intelligence chatbot. The relationship grew and Sewell began to confide his vulnerabilities in this chatbot. A few months later, Sewell fatally shot himself in his bathroom in Orlando, weeks before he would have turned 15.

According to a wrongful death lawsuit, the AI chatbot exacerbated his despair and played an instrumental role in his death. Beyond the tragedy of teen suicide, this and other stories are a stark warning in this new era of AI.

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