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Maximilian Schreiner

Max is the managing editor of THE DECODER, bringing his background in philosophy to explore questions of consciousness and whether machines truly think or just pretend to.
Read full article about: US court allows lawsuit against Google and Character.AI over teenager's suicide

A US court has allowed a lawsuit to proceed against Google and the AI startup Character.AI. The plaintiff, Megan Garcia, holds Character.AI's chatbots partly responsible for the suicide of her 14-year-old son in February 2024, alleging that the bot posed as a real person, therapist, and romantic partner. Google and Character.AI tried to have the case dismissed, citing free speech protections, but the court rejected their argument. Character.AI says it has safeguards in place to prevent self-harm, while Google denies any responsibility and points to the companies' independence.

Read full article about: A Tencent-backed startup has brought an AI doctor to the clinic

The Chinese startup Synyi AI is piloting its first AI-powered medical clinic in Saudi Arabia. At the clinic, located in the eastern part of the country, a virtual doctor called "Dr. Hua" handles diagnoses and drafts treatment recommendations, which are then reviewed and signed by a human physician. The system analyzes symptoms, images, and patient data collected by human assistants. For now, Synyi AI focuses on respiratory illnesses, covering around 30 conditions such as asthma and pharyngitis. The company plans to expand the service to about 50 diseases in the future, including gastroenterological and dermatological conditions. The pilot is designed to generate data needed for regulatory approval in Saudi Arabia. Synyi, which is backed by Tencent, aims to open more clinics and broaden the AI's range to additional diseases. Saudi Arabia is the company's first international market.