ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers are deciding on how to address the growing influence of artificial intelligence on children following the death of a 14-year-old boy who, according to his mother, had been communicating with an AI chatbot before taking his own life.
Megan Garcia says her son, Sewell, died in 2024 after frequent conversations with a chatbot she describes as being “designed specifically to mimic humans and to gain his trust and to keep him endlessly engaged by supplanting the actual human relationships in his life.”
She says, “Sewell took his life. His last interaction in this world was with this AI chatbot.”
Garcia is now suing the creator of the chatbot, as lawmakers on Georgia’s Artificial Intelligence Study Committee consider what can be done to make online platforms safer for children.
Committee co-chair State Senator Sally Harrell says the issue demands urgent attention. “Because this has the potential to get so much worse,” she said, adding that “we have moved from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood.”
The committee is exploring possible policies to regulate AI-driven platforms and better protect young users online.
WSB’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story
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