In both lawsuits filed against C.AI, parents want to see the model destroyed, not evolved. That’s because not only do they consider the chats their kids experienced to be harmful, but they also believe it was unacceptable for C.AI to train its model on their kids’ chats.
Because the model could never be fully cleansed of their data—and because C.AI allegedly fails to adequately age-gate and it’s currently unclear how many kids’ data was used to train the AI model—they have asked courts to order C.AI to delete the model.
Ars could not immediately reach lawyers representing families suing for comment, but it’s also likely that parents won’t be satisfied by the separate teen model because they consider C.AI’s age-verification method flawed.
Currently, the only way that C.AI age-gates the platform is by asking users to self-report ages. For some kids on devices with strict parental controls, accessing the app might be more challenging, but other kids with fewer rules could seemingly access the adult model by lying about their ages. That’s what happened in the case of one girl whose mother is suing after the girl started using C.AI when she was only 9, and it was supposedly only offered to users age 12 and up.
Ars was able to use the same email address to attempt to register as a 13-year-old, 16-year-old, and adult without an issue blocking re-tries.
C.AI’s spokesperson told Ars that it’s not supposed to work that way and reassured Ars that C.AI’s trust and safety team would be notified.
“You must be 13 or older to create an account on Character.AI,” C.AI’s spokesperson said in a statement provided to Ars. “Users under 18 receive a different experience on the platform, including a more conservative model to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content. Age is self-reported, as is industry-standard across other platforms. We have tools on the web and in the app preventing re-tries if someone fails the age gate.”
If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal or in distress, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), which will put you in touch with a local crisis center.
