Alarmed by stories of minors dying by suicide after their interactions with chatbots, a bipartisan group of senators wants to ban artificial intelligence companions for children and stop chatbots from soliciting kids to engage in sexually explicit conversations or encouraging them to harm themselves or others.
The senators, led by Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced an as-yet unnumbered bill Tuesday that would create criminal penalties for companies allowing chatbots to engage in the prohibited conversations with kids, and would require companies that run AI chatbots to verify users’ ages.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., joined Hawley at a news conference to announce the bill’s introduction.
