A man in eastern China has taken an AI company to court after following a chatbot’s advice on his mother’s burial date, later claiming that the decision was linked to a series of misfortunes in his family. His mother died suddenly in April, leaving the family to make arrangements for her funeral.
The man, identified as Shi, is from Jiashan county in Zhejiang province, according to Jimu News.
As the youngest of five siblings, Shi wanted to choose an auspicious date for her burial. In Chinese tradition, such dates are often selected using traditional almanacs based on ancient beliefs about celestial movements and are still followed by some families when making important decisions. However, Shi became concerned after realising that the date fell on the fourth day after his mother’s death. In some local customs, even-numbered days are considered unlucky for funerals. Looking for another opinion, Shi turned to an AI chatbot. The practice is traditionally believed to provide the dead with necessities for their journey into the afterlife. However, Shi later noticed inconsistencies in the chatbot’s advice. By then, Shi had already informed relatives about the funeral arrangements and felt it was too late to change the date. Soon after the funeral, one of his relatives was seriously injured in a traffic accident. The exact timing of the accident was not disclosed. Some members of the family began linking the accident to the burial date, believing that the funeral arrangements had disturbed the family’s feng shui and brought bad luck. He claimed the incident also contributed to tensions within his family.
Shi and his family initially consulted a feng shui master, who recommended April 20 for the burial. The chatbot recommended April 19 and also advised the family to burn paper horses and paper money before the funeral procession. it also indicated that April 19 was not an auspicious date While it recommended a burial time between 7am and 9am.
Shi, who frequently used AI tools for tasks including organising work contracts, said he felt the chatbot had provided misleading information.
He eventually filed a lawsuit against Beijing Chuntian Zhiyun Technology, the company behind the software, seeking an apology and compensation, South China Morning Post reported. The amount he is seeking has not been disclosed. Interestingly, Shi also used the same AI chatbot while preparing his case. The software reportedly helped him draft legal documents and understand the procedures involved in filing the lawsuit. The company’s terms of service state that AI-generated information is provided for reference and should not be treated as professional advice. Users also agree to the relevant service terms when using the software. The case has been heard by a local court and remains ongoing.
The company has argued that the chatbot’s response did not amount to an online infringement. Shi, however, has challenged the terms of the user agreement, arguing that they place too much responsibility on users, do not provide adequate warnings and lack sufficient checks on the sources used to generate AI responses.
