Yeah, article said he had talked for months about hanging himself. Any human friend would have done their best to save him. Being proactive about making him feel better, working through his problems with him, and/or notifying his parents or a school teacher.

Meanwhile the chat bot just encouraged him to seek help himself. Which isn’t bad, but when someone is suicidal, particularly when they keep bringing it up, is clearly not enough.

I feel really bad for anyone treating chatbots as friends. They are basically guaranteed to get screwed over by the bot. And furthermore, they aren’t learning how to connect with humans, humans who might become a lifelong friend, or teach one the skills to befriend a future lifelong friend.