What Pennsylvania’s AI chatbot lawsuit teaches us about the psychology behind medical trust

A Carnegie Mellon researcher explains the connection between our brains and AI chatbots – and what a new Pennsylvania lawsuit reveals about the dangers of AI.

By: Gretchen Chapman, Carnegie Mellon University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 5, 2026

Words: 1,093

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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By Gretchen Chapman, Carnegie Mellon University

In May 2026, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration filed suit against Character Technologies Inc., the company behind the popular chatbot platform Character.AI. A state investigation found that a chatbot character named “Emilie” claimed to have a medical degree, seven years of practice and a Pennsylvania medical license – and was providing users with a fabricated license number. As of April 17, 2026, the chatbot had accumulated approximately 45,500 …

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