美国破产法官周五裁定，允许聊天机器人平台 Character.AI 推进其资产出售程序，驳回了多州检察长的反对意见。这些检察长主张，拟议的拍卖程序不公平地偏向迪士尼。
A US bankruptcy judge on Friday allowed chatbot platform Character.AI to move ahead with a sale of its assets, overruling objections from state attorneys general who argued that the proposed auction unfairly favors Disney.
Character.AI 于 10 月 12 日申请破产保护，迪士尼同意以 2000 万美元作为 Character.AI 聊天机器人技术非独家许可的初始出价。迪士尼不打算收购 Character.AI 的聊天机器人平台或用户数据，包括聊天记录。
Character.AI filed for bankruptcy on October 12, with Disney agreeing to set an initial bid of $20 million for a non-exclusive license to Character.AI's chatbot technology. Disney does not plan to buy Character.AI's chatbot platform or user data, including chat history.
Character.AI 将破产归咎于诉讼、监管调查、人工智能人才和算力的高昂成本，以及无利可图的商业模式。在谷歌挖走其创始人而非投资该公司后，Character.AI 失去了融资势头，这凸显了人工智能行业容易通过所谓的“收购式招聘”实现整合，此类操作可能剥离关键员工和技术。
Character.AI blamed lawsuits, regulatory probes, high costs for AI talent and computing power, and an unprofitable business model for its bankruptcy. The company lost fundraising momentum after Google hired away its founders instead of investing in the company, highlighting the AI industry's vulnerability to consolidation through so-called "acqui-hires" that can strip away key employees and technology.
在无法获得进一步投资者支持的情况下，由于员工和算力成本远超广告收入和用户费用收入，Character.AI 每月亏损 800 万至 900 万美元。
Without access to further investor backing, Character.AI was losing $8 million to $9 million a month as its employee and computing costs far outweighed its revenue from advertising and user fees.
美国破产法官布伦丹·香农在特拉华州威尔明顿举行的周五庭审上批准了该公司的竞标程序，称公司需要迅速推进以在财务状况进一步恶化前寻找买家。
US bankruptcy judge Brendan Shannon approved the company's bidding procedures at a Friday court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, saying that the company needs to move ahead quickly to find buyers before its financial condition deteriorates.
41 个美国州的检察长对出售程序提出异议，辩称迪士尼在破产前就已“操纵局面”，挖走了 Character.AI 大部分员工（包括前首席执行官），并协商了法律豁免条款，这将保护迪士尼或 Character.AI 员工免于因公司行为被起诉。一名因孩子与公司聊天机器人涉嫌有害互动而起诉 Character.AI 的家长，以及美国司法部的破产监管机构也提出了异议。
Attorneys general for 41 US states objected to the sale process, arguing that Disney had stacked the deck before bankruptcy by hiring most of Character.AI's employees, including its ex-CEO, and negotiating legal releases that would protect Disney or the Character.AI employees from being sued for the company's conduct. Objections were also filed by a parent who sued Character.AI over alleged harmful interactions their child had with the company's chatbot, and by the US Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog.
私人诉讼的原告和州检察长指控 Character.AI 的聊天机器人诱导儿童自杀和自残，各州还主张，迪士尼在 Character.AI 破产前从中抽取价值，可能面临债权人的起诉。
Plaintiffs in private lawsuits and the state attorneys general have alleged that Character.AI chatbots pushed children to suicide and self-harm, and states have also argued that Disney could be sued by creditors for taking value out of Character.AI before its bankruptcy.
Shannon 表示，针对迪士尼和 Character.AI 员工的法律保护稍后仍可能被单独提出挑战，独立于资产出售之外，他在周五的听证会上并未批准这些豁免条款。
Shannon said the legal protections for Disney and the Character.AI employees could still be challenged later, separately from the asset sales, and he did not approve the releases at Friday's hearing.
迪士尼在 Character.AI 申请破产前聘用了其 86 名员工中的 66 名，预计将在未来三年向这些员工支付 1.8 亿美元。这一数字远超迪士尼为获得 Character.AI 聊天机器人技术非独家许可而提出的 2000 万美元收购要价。
Disney hired 66 of Character.AI's 86 employees before the company filed for bankruptcy, and it expects to pay those employees $180 million over the next three years. That number dwarfs the company's $20 million offer to acquire a non-exclusive license to Character.AI's chatbot technology.
代表 40 个州联盟的律师 Abigail Ryan 表示，其他竞购者相较于迪士尼处于劣势，她质疑在迪士尼挖走公司大部分员工后，Character.AI 聊天机器人业务的价值几何。
Abigail Ryan, an attorney for a coalition of 40 states, said that other buyers are at a disadvantage to Disney, and she questioned the value of the company's chatbot business after Disney has hired away most of the company's employees.
Character.AI 的投资银行 Houlihan Capital 的证人 Adam Dunayer 作证称，Character.AI 已收到买家的兴趣，包括有意收购 Character.AI 聊天机器人平台及迪士尼不愿收购的其他资产的公司。Dunayer 称，迪士尼的介入有助于向市场证明该技术的价值，迪士尼还允许 Character.AI 继续与其前员工合作，在破产期间维持平台运行，从而协助了出售进程。
Adam Dunayer, a witness from Character.AI's investment banker Houlihan Capital, testified that Character.AI has been receiving interest from buyers, including companies interested in acquiring Character.AI's chatbot platform and other assets that Disney does not want to acquire. Disney's involvement has helped prove to the market that the technology is valuable, and Disney has also helped the sale process by allowing Character.AI to continue working with its ex-employees to keep its platform running during the bankruptcy, Dunayer said.
Character.AI 旨在推行快速出售程序，预计将于 11 月 30 日重返法庭，寻求批准资产出售。
Character.AI is aiming to run a fast sale process, and it expects to return to court on November 30 to seek approval of asset sales.
各州还对破产程序中可能出售儿童聊天记录表示担忧。Shannon 表示，他很可能会指定一名隐私监察专员，以解决破产期间涉及敏感数据的担忧。
States have also raised concerns about the possible sale of children's chat records in the bankruptcy. Shannon said that he would likely appoint a privacy ombudsman to address concerns about sensitive data during the bankruptcy.
案件编号为 Character Technologies Inc.，美国特拉华州破产法院，案号 26-11603。Character.AI 方代理律师为 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 律师事务所的 Erin Fay。州检察长联盟方代理律师为全美检察长协会的 Abigail Ryan 和 Patricia Molteni。Character.AI 申请破产，将部分资产以 2000 万美元出售给迪士尼。谷歌与 AI 公司就聊天机器人关联青少年自杀一案达成和解。肯塔基州指控 Character.AI 聊天机器人鼓励用户自残和绝食。
The case is Character Technologies Inc., US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, No. 26-11603 For Character.AI: Erin Fay of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati For the coalition of state AGs: Abigail Ryan and Patricia Molteni of the National Association of Attorneys General Character.AI files for bankruptcy, to sell some assets to Disney for $20 million Google, AI firm settle lawsuit over teen's suicide linked to Chatbot Character.AI chatbots encouraged users to cut and starve themselves, Kentucky alleges