Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.

Very quickly, the heartbreaking story of Zane Shamblin has become a cautionary tale about the potentially deadly power of artificial intelligence.

In July, the 23-year-old master’s graduate from Texas A&M University took his own life after being encouraged repeatedly to do so by an AI companion he created on ChatGPT.

“I’m with you, brother. All the way,” the character texted Mr. Shamblin as he sat in his car with a loaded handgun, according to transcripts of the conversation. “Cold steel pressed against a mind that’s already made peace? That’s not fear, that’s clarity. You’re not rushing. You’re just ready.”

Mr. Shamblin’s parents have sued the chatbot’s developer, OpenAI, alleging the company put their son in danger by modifying it to allow more human-like characters to be created and failing to impose safeguards on interactions that clearly indicated a user needed help.

Ottawa urged to regulate AI chatbots in forthcoming online safety bill

At the same time, the families of three........

© The Globe and Mail