A bill designed to regulate the ever-growing AI companion chatbot industry took effect in California on October 13th.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the law Senate bill 243declared as “the country's first chatbot with artificial intelligenceState Senator Anthony Padilla. new law requires companion chatbot developers to implement new protections—for example, “if a reasonable person interacting with a companion chatbot would be misled into believing that that person is interacting with a human,” then the new law requires the chatbot manufacturer to “provide a clear and conspicuous notice” that the product is purely artificial intelligence and not human.
Starting next year, the law will require certain companion chatbot operators to report annually to the Office of Suicide Prevention on the protective measures they have taken “to detect, address and respond to instances of suicidal ideation in users,” and the Office will be required to publish such data on its website.
“New technologies like chatbots and social media can inspire, educate and connect, but without real guardrails, technology can also exploit, mislead and endanger our children,” Newsom says the statement on the signing of the bill, as well as a number of other legislative acts aimed at improving the online safety of children, including new age requirements for hardware. “We can continue to lead in artificial intelligence and technology, but we must do so responsibly, protecting our children every step of the way. Our children's safety is not for sale.”
This news comes after Governor Newsom officially signed Senate Bill 53The landmark AI transparency bill that has divided AI companies and made headlines for months has taken effect in California.
