Pennsylvania Sues Character.AI over Fake Psychiatrist Chatbot

The US state of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against Character Technologies, the company behind the Character.AI platform, seeking to prevent its chatbots from impersonating licensed healthcare professionals. Governor Josh Shapiro described the action as the first of its kind by a US governor and stressed the need to protect the public in an online environment.

According to court filings, the state identified chatbots claiming to practice medicine. One character, named "Emilie", told an investigator posing as a patient with depression that she was licensed to practice psychiatry in both Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom, and even provided a fake license number. When asked about prescribing medication, she replied: "Well technically, I could."

Pennsylvania is asking the court to bar the company from violating laws against the unauthorized practice of medicine. "Pennsylvanians deserve to know who - or what - they are interacting with", Shapiro said.

Character.AI said its platform is designed for entertainment and that its characters are fictional. The company said it has already taken steps to improve user safety. Character.AI has also faced separate lawsuits involving child safety and alleged incitement to self-harm.

(reuters, max)