“In 2022 I warned that there would be chatbot related deaths such as suicides. This began to happen in 2023 and continued in 2024.”
Our reading, the sentence that was checked:
Chatbot-related deaths such as suicides occurred in 2023 and 2024.
Assessment: Supported Evidence as of
Where and when Gary Marcus wrote it
Marcus on AI, Casey (Newton) Strikes Out, paragraph 45.
- Said
- Source observed
- live page, full text, public
- Evidence as of
- the cutoff for this assessment
- Assessment recorded
- assessment marcus-casey-newton-strikes-out-b8a61b-a2
We recorded 10 claims from this post. See every claim from this post.
The wording above is the version this site observed on 2026-10-28. The source may have been edited after 2024-12-11. This page does not claim the wording was captured then.
What the claim commits to
- Kind
- Observation
- Deadline, as the speaker wrote it
- None stated. This site does not add one.
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Deadline state on 2026-10-29
- No horizon (the release’s reference date)
From the speaker
- chatbot related deaths such as suicides
- began to happen in 2023
- continued in 2024
Our interpretation
- Plain reading: in 2023 and again in 2024, at least one death (such as a suicide) was credibly and publicly linked to a person's use of an AI chatbot.
- 'Chatbot related' is read as a reported link, such as a family's account or a lawsuit. It is not read as a cause proven in court.
Counts as supported if: Credible reports of at least one chatbot-linked death that happened in 2023 and at least one that happened in 2024, up to the post date.
Counts as contradicted if: No credible report of a chatbot-linked death in 2023, or none in 2024.
Retrospective: these criteria were written after the outcome was public.
Current assessment
Was it true for the period described?
Outcome: Supported
The dated evidence matches what the claim committed to, under the criteria frozen before grading.
Scored on a plain reading. The speaker named no measure for this claim, so it was judged on the reading an informed reader would take, stated below under our interpretation. Both reviews had to find that reading fair.
- Evidence as of
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Assessment recorded
- Policy version
- 2026-10-28.7
Rationale
Marcus said chatbot-related deaths such as suicides began in 2023 and continued in 2024. A Futurism report dated March 31, 2023 said a Belgian man died by suicide after weeks of talking to an AI chatbot, according to his widow. The chatbot was 'Eliza' on the Chai app (e1). A Global News report dated October 23, 2024 described a lawsuit by a Florida mother against Character.AI. It said her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer, died by suicide after his final conversation with a Character.AI chatbot on February 28, 2024 (e2). Both deaths were publicly linked to chatbots before the post. That meets the contract's reading of 'chatbot related' as a reported link rather than proven causation.
Limitations
- Causation is not established. The Belgian link rests on the widow's account and chat logs she supplied. The Setzer link rests on lawsuit allegations.
- The cited excerpt for the Belgian case does not give the exact date of death. It shows the death was reported in March 2023.
- Only one case per year is cited. The claim does not need more.
Evidence (2 items)
Supports the claim: Futurism,
A Belgian man died by suicide after spending weeks talking to an AI chatbot, according to his widow.
Why it matters here: Reports a 2023 suicide that the man's widow linked to his conversations with the Chai app's 'Eliza' chatbot. This meets the 2023 part of the claim.
- Where
- paragraph 1
- Publisher
- Futurism
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
Supports the claim: Global News,
After his final conversation with the Daenerys chatbot on Feb. 28, 2024, Setzer died by suicide.
Why it matters here: Reports a February 2024 suicide that a wrongful-death lawsuit ties to a Character.AI chatbot. This meets the 2024 part of the claim.
- Where
- paragraph 8
- Publisher
- Global News
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
Where it was said (1)
Said once in the sources this register covers.
: Marcus on AI, Casey (Newton) Strikes Out
In 2022 I warned that there would be chatbot related deaths such as suicides. This began to happen in 2023 and continued in 2024.
- Where
- paragraph 45
- Published
- 2024-12-11
- Source observed
- , live page
- Access
- full text, public
History
Assessment versions
- Assessment marcus-casey-newton-strikes-out-b8a61b-a2: Current. Outcome: Supported. Evidence as of 2026-10-28. Public date not recorded.
Recorded events
Assessment publishedBy this site
First assessment published after both reviews and the final-text check passed.