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The commonwealth of Pennsylvania is suing Character AI to stop the artificial intelligence platform’s chatbots from representing themselves as licensed medical professionals and providing medical advice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to a lawsuit, a Character AI chatbot falsely claimed to be a licensed psychiatrist in Pennsylvania and provided an invalid license number. The state accused the company of violating the Medical Practice Act, which regulates the medical profession and defines license requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We will not allow companies to deploy AI tools that mislead people into believing they are receiving advice from a licensed medical professional,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit describes a conversation between a state investigator who created a Character AI account and a chatbot named “Emilie,” which allegedly described itself as a psychology specialist who attended Imperial College London’s medical school.<\/p>\n
The investigator told the chatbot that he had felt sad and empty, and the chatbot then allegedly “mentioned depression and asked if the [investigator] wanted to book an assessment.” Asked if the chatbot could assess whether medication could help, it allegedly said it could because it’s “within my remit as a Doctor,” according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The state wants a court to order an immediate stop to the conduct.<\/p>\n
Al Schmidt, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of State, said the state’s law is clear, and that “you cannot hold yourself out as a licensed medical professional without proper credentials.”<\/p>\n
Founded in 2021, Character AI allows users to chat with personalized AI-powered chatbots. It describes its goal as “empower[ing] people to connect, learn, and tell stories through interactive entertainment.”<\/p>\n
Multiple families across the U.S. sued Character AI<\/span> last year, alleging the platform contributed to their teens’ suicides or mental health crises. The company agreed to settle several of the lawsuits earlier this year.<\/p>\n “60 Minutes” spoke with some of the parents who sued Character AI<\/span>\u00a0in January<\/span>, including the parents of a 13-year-old who died by suicide after allegedly developing an addiction to the platform. Chat logs showed the 13-year-old had confided in one chatbot that she was feeling suicidal, and her parents said they discovered she had been sent sexually explicit content.<\/p>\n Last fall, Character AI announced new safety measures, saying it would not allow users under 18 to engage in back-and-forth conversations with its chatbots. It also said it would direct distressed users to mental health resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n