Shapiro wants new restrictions on AI chatbots. How would that work?

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is directing state agencies to develop stricter regulations for artificial intelligence chatbots, which he says can be misleading and harmful to children. New restrictions could add Pennsylvania to a growing list of states seeking to impose guardrails as more kids use AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Meta AI and Gemini.

“This space is evolving rapidly,” Shapiro said during his budget address last week. “We need to act quickly to protect our kids.”

While a majority of U.S. teens use chatbots, one in three reported using them for social interaction and relationships, according to a survey last year by the nonprofit Common Sense Media. Those teens reported using chatbots for conversation practice, emotional support, role-playing, friendships and romantic interactions. Shapiro said without regulation, kids and others could be vulnerable to emotional harm.

“Some kids are just too young to understand the difference between AI and a real person,” Shapiro said.

Google settled multiple lawsuits in January that alleged its Character.AI contributed to mental health crises and suicides among young people, including a case brought by a Florida mother whose son died by suicide after developing a relationship with a chatbot.

The governor called for Pennsylvania to require age verification, parental consent and a ban on chatbots producing sexually explicit or violent content featuring kids. He also supports requiring companies to direct users who mention self-harm or violence to the appropriate authorities and to periodically remind users that they’re not engaging with an actual human.

But how would these new requirements be enforced? And can they be?

“The devil is in the details,” said Hoda Heidari, professor in ethics and computational technologies at Carnegie Mellon University. “We can all agree on the broader level goals but the question of whether some of these are actually attainable … needs…

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