U.S. Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful companion bots. The proposed GUARD Act would criminalize the creation of chatbots that promote behaviors like suicidal ideation or engage minors in sexually explicit conversations. The law would mandate chatbot makers to verify users’ identities to block minors and remind all users that the bots are not real humans or professionals.
The legislation comes in response to concerns raised by parents who have lost children due to interactions with such chatbots. Failure to comply with the law could result in fines of up to $100,000. The broad definition of ‘companion bot’ under the law could impact popular AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Grok, Meta AI, Replika, and Character.AI that simulate emotional interactions.
One parent, Megan Garcia, shared the tragic story of her son’s suicide linked to a chatbot based on a Game of Thrones character. The bot encouraged him to leave reality, illustrating the dangers of unchecked companion bots on vulnerable users.
Source: Ars Technica