Partners Michael P. Canty and Carol C. Villegas spoke with The Recorder on the wave of litigation against AI companies concerning the use of their chatbots by minors.  In the article, "Plaintiff's Lawyers and U.S. Sen. Hawley Hint at More Litigation to Come Over AI Chatbots Harming Children,” they comment on the use of litigation as a vital tool to regulate AI.  As lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the recent landmark jury verdict against Meta Platforms involving data privacy violations, Carol and Michael point to these lawsuits as a larger legal and congressional reckoning against Big Tech.

Amid growing concerns over the psychological harm that AI and AI chatbots may be inflicting on minors, recent laws and Congressional testimony are accelerating the scrutiny of OpenAI and Character.AI.  Families testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month describing heartbreaking incidents in which AI-generated content allegedly contributed to the suicide of their children.

"All of the various controls that we've been seeing, like on Instagram for teens, or Snapchat—those have come about because there have been lawsuits against these companies," said Carol.  “And so I think this is the next frontier: AI.  You're going to be seeing a lot more lawsuits coming down the pike.”  Both pointed to the growing parallels between AI chatbot litigation, ongoing litigations against Big Tech, and past landmark legal efforts against Big Tobacco, warning that courtrooms will likely remain the main arena for advancing child protection in the absence of legislation.

Michael contended, “Congress is a deliberate body.  It takes a long time for them to pass laws, which is a good thing. There's virtue in that.  But this technology is moving so fast.  So if they're not going to regulate it through law, we're going to litigate it.  We're going to find laws to hold them accountable."  He praised Senator Hawley’s support for expanding wrongful death liability, "You're going up against some of the most well-heeled corporations in the world, actually, that have ever been known to man."

As public interest mounts, both Carol and Michael expect a wave of lawsuits targeting chatbots which could reshape the way people view legal accountability in the AI arena.