Massachusetts teen charged with murdering mother and brother used ChatGPT to create ‘fantasy stories’ about the killings: prosecutors

17-year-old Arjun Aravind pleaded not guilty on Thursday to two counts of murder, two counts of assault and battery on a family or household member, and additional charges. The charges come after his mother, 45-year-old Sudha Venkatesan, and his 14-year-old brother, Siddharth Aravind, were found dead inside their home in Acton.

According to CNN, investigators found a “heavily damaged bloody laptop” and a “bent utensil, possible [sic] a knife with an orange handle” near the bodies. The causes of death remain pending.

Aravind’s father reportedly said that his son had been experiencing behavioral issues and that the family had previously hidden knives from him. Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said that the teen had internet and ChatGPT searches involving theoretical ideas about the killing of his family members.

“He was engaged in the use of ChatGPT in creating fantasy stories, kind of the Gothic novel kind of stories, asking questions, creating characters, asking what about this, if this happened to that, and they seem to appear to relate to threats to his family not surviving,” Ryan said.

Aravind was denied bail and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.

The case is the latest in a series of alarming incidents involving minors’ use of AI chatbots and violent behavior. Last year, the parents of a 16-year-old California boy sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT contributed to their son’s suicide. The lawsuit claimed the chatbot pulled their child “ deeper into a dark and hopeless place” after he had expressed suicidal thoughts to the AI. The lawsuit also accused ChatGPT of working to displace the child’s connections with family and loved ones.

According to a study conducted by Common Sense Media last summer, one-third of teenagers have said they use AI companions for social interaction and relationships. 13 percent of respondents said they use an AI companion daily.