By Peter G. Kirchschläger, Project Syndicate | May 16, 2025
Given that we have already sacrificed one generation of children and teens to social-media companies that profit from their platforms’ addictiveness, the absence of effective regulation to control AI development and deployment is scandalous. As lethal consequences multiply, what will it take for policymakers to do their duty?
ZURICH – On February 28, 2024, Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy from Florida, killed himself at the urging of a lifelike AI character generated by Character.AI, a platform that is also reportedly hosting pro-anorexia AI chatbots that encourage disordered eating among young people. Clearly, stronger measures are urgently needed to protect children and young people from AI.
Of course, even in strictly ethical terms, AI has immense positive potential, from promoting human health and dignity to improving sustainability and education among marginalized populations. But these promised benefits are no excuse for downplaying or ignoring the ethical risks and real-world costs. Every violation of human rights must be seen as ethically unacceptable. If a lifelike AI chatbot provokes the death of a teenager, the fact that AI could play a role in advancing medical research is no compensation.
Nor is the Setzer tragedy an isolated case. This past December, two families in Texas filed a lawsuit against Character.AI and its financial backer, Google, alleging that the platform’s chatbots sexually and emotionally abused their school-age children, resulting in self-harm and violence.
We have seen this movie before, having already sacrificed a generation of children and teens to social-media companies that profit from their platforms’ addictiveness. Only slowly did we awaken to the social and psychological harms done by “anti-social media.” Now, many countries are banning or restricting access, and young people themselves are demanding stronger regulation.
But we cannot wait to rein in AI’s manipulative power. Owing to the huge quantities of personal data that the tech industry has harvested from us, those building platforms like Character.AI can create algorithms that know us better than we know ourselves. The potential for abuse is profound. AIs know exactly which buttons to press to tap into our desires, or to get us to vote a certain way. The pro-anorexia chatbots on Character.AI are merely the latest, most outrageous example. There is no good reason why they shouldn’t be banned immediately.
Yet time is running out, because generative AI models have been developing faster than expected – and they are generally accelerating in the wrong direction. The “Godfather of AI,” the Nobel laureate cognitive scientist Geoffrey Hinton, continues to warn that AI could lead to human extinction: “My worry is that the invisible hand is not going to keep us safe. So just leaving it to the profit motive of large companies is not going to be sufficient to make sure they develop it safely. The only thing that can force those big companies to do more research on safety is government regulation.”
Given Big Tech’s consistent failure to uphold ethical standards, it is folly to expect these companies to police themselves. Google poured $2.7 billion into Character.AI in 2024 despite its well-known problems. But while regulation is obviously needed, AI is a global phenomenon, which means we should strive for global regulation, anchored in a new global enforcement mechanism, such as an International Data-Based Systems Agency (IDA) at the United Nations, as I have proposed.
The fact that something is possible does not mean that it is desirable. Humans bear the responsibility to decide which technologies, which innovations, and which forms of progress are to be realized and scaled up, and which ought not be. It is our responsibility to design, produce, use, and govern AI in ways that respect human rights and facilitate a more sustainable future for humanity and the planet.
Sewell would almost certainly still be alive if a global regulation had been in place to promote human rights-based “AI,” and if a global institution had been established to monitor innovations in this domain. Ensuring that human rights and the rights of the child are respected requires governance of technological systems’ entire life cycle, from design and development to production, distribution, and use.
Since we already know that AI can kill, we have no excuse for remaining passive as the technology continues to advance, with more unregulated models being released to the public every month. Whatever benefits these technologies might someday provide, they will never be able to compensate for the loss that all who loved Sewell have already suffered.
Peter G. Kirchschläger, Professor of Ethics and Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE at the University of Lucerne, is a visiting professor at ETH Zurich.
Copyright Project Syndicate
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Ukraine-Russia Talks End After 90 Minutes With No Breakthrough - RFE/RL
The first direct peace talks in Istanbul were over about 90 minutes after they began. Ukrainian officials accused Russia of making "unacceptable" demands.
Negotiators agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners on each side in the near future, the heads of both delegations said. That would be the largest single swap since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But there was no public indication that the wide gaps between Russia and Ukraine on issues such as territory and a cease-fire were narrowed, and European leaders joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in condemning Moscow.
2. New Pope Offers Vatican For Ukraine Peace Talks After Istanbul Failure - TIPP Insights
Pope Leo XIV has offered to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks at the Vatican following the collapse of a summit in Istanbul.
Calling the outcome “tragic,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See remains ready to facilitate direct talks to end the three-year war. Pope Leo, elected just last week, has made peace in Ukraine a top priority, appealing to both leaders in public remarks and in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
3. Russia Says It Is Satisfied With Ukraine Talks In Istanbul And Ready To Keep Talking - Reuters
Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia’s delegation at Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, said after the negotiations that Moscow was satisfied with the results and was ready to keep talking to Kyiv.
“The Ukrainian side requested direct talks between the leaders of the states. We have taken note of this request,” he added.
4. China To U.S. Ocean Cargo Bookings Surge After Tariff Pause, Vizion Says - Reuters
The average bookings for the seven days ended Wednesday soared 277% to 21,530 20-foot equivalent units from 5,709 TEUs for the average for the seven days that ended on May 5, container-tracking software provider Vizion said.
German container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd earlier on Wednesday said its bookings were up 50% for U.S.-China traffic week on week in the first few days of this week.
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The Chinese government has issued licenses to companies to export rare-earth products to the U.S., Chinese news outlet Caixin reports, in a sign that shipments of the vital industrial metals will resume.
Certain rare earths had been subject to export restrictions. The restart of licensing is seen as an easing of tensions based on this week's agreement in U.S.-China trade talks.
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“If the U.K.-U.S. deal is what the EU gets, the U.S. can expect countermeasures from us,” Swedish Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa said on his way into a meeting of EU trade ministers in Brussels.
“I don’t think we can expect any kind of deal between the EU and the U.S. in the coming weeks, unfortunately,” he added. Washington last week struck a pact with the U.K. to reduce tariffs on U.K. auto and steel exports.
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According to CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang, as reported on X, the Trump administration will begin sending letters to around 150 countries in the next two to three weeks outlining how much they will be expected to pay under new trade terms.
Trump claimed that dozens of countries are eager to strike deals, but according to the Financial Times, “it’s not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us. "
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President Donald Trump said he did not consult Israel before announcing the U.S. decision to recognize Syria’s new government led by Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The move marks a significant policy shift, as Trump also said he would order the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Damascus ahead of his expected meeting with Sharaa. The announcement has raised eyebrows in Israel, a close U.S. ally, which remains deeply suspicious of Sharaa’s leadership.
9. Trump Unveils $200 Billion In U.S.-UAE Deals - TIPP Insights
President Donald Trump announced more than $200 billion in deals between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, highlighting a $14.5 billion agreement involving Boeing, GE Aerospace, and Etihad Airways.
The White House said Etihad committed to purchasing 28 U.S.-made Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft powered by GE engines. The deal is expected to boost American exports and manufacturing.
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President Donald Trump announced investment agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE worth more than $2 trillion during his trip to the Middle East.
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“They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad’s going to happen,” President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving the United Arab Emirates, the final stop on his Middle East trip.
Trump offered no details about the proposal, and Iran has not publicly acknowledged receiving it. In an interview with Fox News conducted earlier in Abu Dhabi, Trump said Iran is eager to trade with the United States.
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NBC’s Richard Engel, reporting from Tehran, said Ali Shamkhani - a top advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader - pledged Iran would forgo highly enriched uranium, limit enrichment to civilian levels, and allow international monitors — if the U.S. follows through.
President Donald Trump amplified the message by posting the interview on Truth Social. Trump has urged Qatar to use its influence to help broker the deal. NBC’s Engel called it the clearest signal yet that Iran is open to diplomacy.
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North Korea currently has up to 10 intercontinental ballistic missiles and could expand its arsenal to 50 ICBMs within a decade, according to U.S. intelligence.
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released the assessment of nuclear-capable missile threats against the United States. The agency publicized a graphic as the Trump administration looks to build a missile defense system, dubbed “Golden Dome,” inspired by Israel’s “Iron Dome.”
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Japan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 0.2% compared to the previous quarter, the first quarterly drop since the January-March period in 2024.
However, compared with the same quarter in the previous year, Japan's economy shrank by 0.7% — much steeper than the forecast 0.2% contraction. Japan's economy has been vulnerable for quite some time now, as an aging population balloons welfare spending but limits labor and demand.
15. The 4% Rule For Retirement Gets An Update. Here's The New Formula. - IBD
First introduced by Bill Bengen in 1994, the rule suggested how much a retiree could safely withdraw from savings in the first year of retirement — with a high likelihood the portfolio would last 30 years. That figure was 4.15% which was later rounded down to the now-famous "4% rule" in media coverage.
The updated "standard configuration" portfolio includes 55% in stocks, equally divided among five asset classes:
11% U.S. large-cap stocks, 11% U.S. midcap stocks, 11% U.S. small-cap stocks, 11% U.S. microcap stocks, 11% international stocks, 40% in intermediate-term U.S. government bonds, 5% in cash, represented by U.S. Treasury bills.
This broader diversification, combined with annual rebalancing, has helped lift the worst-case safe withdrawal rate from 4% to 4.7%
16. U.S. Suspends Live Animal Imports From Mexico Amid Screwworm Outbreak - HealthDay News
CNN reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's temporary move aims to stop the spread of New World screwworm, a dangerous flesh-eating parasite that can be deadly to animals and sometimes harm people.
The ban will last at least two weeks but could be extended and reviewed on a "month-by-month" basis, the USDA said. Mexico's Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué and President Claudia Sheinbaum both objected to the move. Sheinbaum called the move "unfair."
