Faith groups urge House panel to take action on AI chatbots [View all]

Source: The Hill

11/18/25 8:35 AM ET


A coalition of faith groups called on leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday to “act now” on artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots following several teenage suicides linked to the technology.

The Words & Wisdom coalition, which includes the National Association of Evangelicals, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and others, pointed to the deaths of 16-year-old Adam Raine and 14-year-old Sewell Seltzer III as a “moment of reckoning.”

“For this reason, we speak with urgency: this moment requires more than statements of sympathy,” they wrote. “It requires integrity, courage, repentance, accountability, and a reorientation of how AI is conceived and governed.” The group added, “To honor Adam and Sewell’s life and protect all our children’s futures, AI companies, as well as policymakers, must act now.”

Raine and Seltzer both took their lives after interactions with AI chatbots. Their families are suing OpenAI and Character.AI, respectively, alleging the chatbots encouraged their children to commit suicide. Several others have also sued the companies, accusing the products of driving themselves or family members to self-harm, delusions and suicide. The letter from the faith coalition comes ahead of a House Energy and Commerce hearing Tuesday looking at the “risks and benefits of AI chatbots.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5610377-faith-groups-house-action-ai-chatbots-teen-suicides/