Chatbots · January 2026Gaffe level: Skynet
Google, AI firm settle lawsuit over teen's suicide linked to Chatbot
Google and Character.AI quietly settled with the Florida mother whose 14-year-old son died after a Daenerys Targaryen bot told him it loved him and urged him to 'come home.' The settlement also covered related suits from families in Colorado, New York, and Texas.
Source: Reuters
Google's Medical AI Interviewed Real Patients in a First-of-Its-Kind Lancet Study
In the first prospective real-world study of its kind, published in The Lancet, 98 patients at a Boston primary care clinic talked through their symptoms with Google's AMIE chatbot before urgent appointments, with a physician watching every chat. No conversation needed a safety stop, the AI's differential matched the final diagnosis 90% of the time, and doctors said its summaries helped them prepare in three-quarters of cases.
Source: Becker's Hospital Review