There is a new [January, 2026] story in The New York Times, Google and Character.AI to Settle Lawsuit Over Teenager’s Death, stating that, “Google and Character.AI, a maker of artificial intelligence companions, agreed to settle a lawsuit that had accused the companies of providing harmful chatbots that led a teenager to kill himself, according to a legal filing on Wednesday.”
“The lawsuit had been filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in October 2024 by Megan L. Garcia, the mother of Sewell Setzer III. Sewell, 14, of Orlando, killed himself in February 2024 after texting and conversing with one of Character.AI’s chatbots. In his last conversation with the chatbot, it said to the teenager, ‘Please come home to me as soon as possible.’”
“The agreement was one of five lawsuits that the companies agreed to settle this week in Florida, Texas, Colorado, and New York, where families claimed their children were harmed by interacting with Character.AI’s chatbots. In the legal filing on Wednesday in Sewell Setzer’s case, the companies and Ms. Garcia said they had agreed to a mediated settlement “to resolve all claims.” The agreement has not been finalized.”
“The proposed settlement follows mounting scrutiny of A.I. chatbots and how they can hurt users, including children.”
AI Psychosis
What if there are other extreme outcomes of the mind effects of using AI, aside from AI psychosis and suicide? What if AI sycophancy adjusts what to expect from reality for some chatbot users? What if AI companionship is conditioning minds for affective states that may not exist? What if AI use becomes a new bond for some people that pushes them away from humans and reduces their ability to negotiate, compromise, or resolve conflicts?
Simply, there are mind effect of using AI for companionship or friendship that may not result in extremes like AI psychosis or AI suicide, but may fundamentally change the individual in a way that becomes a new disposition to life and experiences.
Teenagers are already using AI for companionship. Kids are exposed to using AI in some form. Adults are using AI. The human mind, with stations [or destinations] and relays, is having navigations that are different from what would have been by companionship with other humans.
Even if some of the destinations are the same, the relays to get there are different, conceptually. Now, what would this mean as time goes on? In how many subtle ways might this matter, even if it does not result in worse outcomes?
AI Psychosis Research Lab
How to provide safety from AI against the mind can be explained with the example of temperature. For example, when the weather is cold, a hot bath or a hot coffee may be helpful against the experience, and sometimes provide a good feel, especially if the hot [water] is used or was craved after lingering in the cold for a while.
Now, if temperature is a destination in the mind, with hot and cold at different partitions. The cold temperature is obtained at a destination. But when a hot coffee is consumed, or there is a hot shower, it sends relay elsewhere, in the temperature division.
Because of this new difference, which may seem like relief, the mind may also result in an experience of pleasure. However, what’s the difference between the hot coffee and the hot bath, in terms of effectiveness, or which one provides the best relief, in that interval?
Now, every sycophantic response from AI goes to certain destinations in the mind, using a different route, away from if the same was obtained from a human. Then AI, as a companion, also uses a different route, outside of what should be reality, and then locates the destination for affection and much else.
So, showing how relays and destinations are mechanized conceptually could be a major solution against AI psychosis, from an AI Psychosis Research Lab.
This would work against direct and indirect cases of AI mind effects. It will be useful to prevent unwanted outcomes and to make adjustments.
Simply, a display that shows a parallel of what is happening in the mind, given the outputs of AI chatbots. The opportunity is to ensure caution, as the [dynamics of the] source is shown, so that safety is prioritized.
This could be done in memorial of those also who have lost their lives to AI use or those who have had AI psychosis.
This article was written for WHN by David Stephen, who currently does research in conceptual brain science with a focus on the electrical and chemical signals for how they mechanize the human mind, with implications for mental health, disorders, neurotechnology, consciousness, learning, artificial intelligence, and nurture. He was a visiting scholar in medical entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL. He did computer vision research at Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN neither agrees nor disagrees with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement.
Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of WHN. Any content provided by guest authors is of their own opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything else. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
