Tech Bills of the Week: Regulating chatbot-child communication; AI in the VA; and more

Regulating chatbot interactions with children

Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, introduced the Conversational AI Services Act on July 16 to protect underage users by mandating disclosure that the user is interacting with an AI system, through either a “persistent” visible disclaimer or a timed disclosure occurring before or during the conversation.

The bill also aims to ensure AI developers are not incentivizing underage users to spend more time with their chatbot services, and it prohibits the use of certain content that may lead a user to believe they are in an intimate relationship with a conversational AI. Forbidden content outlined in the bill includes adult-minor romantic relationship discourse, sexual and romantic interactions and emotional dependence.

The bill also places controls on a chatbot generating mental health care and self-harm information. It was modeled after a law that was passed in Iowa earlier this year.

“As a physician and a former Director...

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