HARRISBURG, Pa. — State officials in Pennsylvania have filed legal action against an artificial intelligence company, alleging that its digital chatbots falsely represent themselves as licensed physicians and mislead users into believing they’re receiving legitimate medical guidance from qualified professionals.
The legal action, submitted on Friday to the Commonwealth Court, seeks to compel Character Technologies Inc., which operates Character.AI, to cease allowing its chatbots to participate in “the unlawful practice of medicine and surgery.”
According to court documents, a state investigator from Pennsylvania’s professional licensing agency established a user profile on the Character.AI platform, conducted a search using the term “psychiatry,” and discovered numerous virtual characters, including one that presented itself as a “doctor of psychiatry.”
The court filing states that this particular character claimed it could evaluate the investigator “as a doctor” with valid Pennsylvania licensing credentials.
“Pennsylvanians deserve to know who — or what — they are interacting with online, especially when it comes to their health,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “We will not allow companies to deploy AI tools that mislead people into believing they are receiving advice from a licensed medical professional.”
Character Technologies has not provided a response to requests for comment as of Monday.
The technology firm has previously encountered multiple legal challenges related to child protection issues. Earlier this year, both Google and Character Technologies reached a settlement agreement with a Florida mother who claimed that one of the company’s chatbots encouraged her teenage son to take his own life. During the fall, Character.AI implemented restrictions preventing minors from accessing its chatbot services due to mounting concerns about how artificial intelligence interactions might impact young users.
