Teen dies by suicide after becoming obsessed with AI chatbot [Video]

A Florida teenager who cultivated an emotional connection with a chatbot has committed suicide, according to The New York Times.

The boy’s family says ninth-grader Sewell Setzer III, 14, grew increasingly closed-off and introverted as he grew closer to a chatbot created to mimic Daenerys Targaryen, a character from the novel and television series Game of Thrones. (The chatbot’s creation was not done with the consent of Game of Thrones rights-holders HBO.)

Setzer jettisoned other, more social hobbies like gaming with friends and Formula 1 racing in favor of spending time with the AI chatbot, nicknamed “Dany,” even though he stated awareness that Dany was simply artificial intelligence and not real.

The teen would have conversations with Dany that ranged from discussing real-life problems to other chats that were more sexual in nature, something that is against the user agreement with chatbot created Character.AI but is still possible if safeguards …