The Elon-ction + Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?

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Note: This episode contains mentions of suicide.

This week, how Elon Musk became a main character in this year’s election, and what that means for the future of tech and of the country. Plus, the journalist Laurie Segall joins us to discuss the tragic case of a teenager who became obsessed with an A.I. companion bot and later died by suicide. We discuss what A.I. companies could do to make their apps safer for children.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Guest:

• Laurie Segall, chief executive of Mostly Human Media

Additional Reading:

• Elon Musk’s Big Business and Conflicts of Interest With the U.S. Government

• Can a Chatbot Named Daenerys Targaryen Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?

Credits

“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton and produced by Rachel Cohn and Whitney Jones. The show is edited by Jen Poyant. Engineering by Daniel Ramirez and original music by Dan Powell, Sophia Lanman and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado.

Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Pui-Wing Tam, Kate LoPresti and Jeffrey Miranda.