New York passes law restricting children’s use of AI chatbots
The law requires chatbot operators to verify the ages of users and restrict the use of certain traits by the artificial intelligence interface if the user is under 18.
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The governor of New York state signed a new law Wednesday preventing minors from using AI chatbots that act as companions, in one of the broadest moves yet for restricting consumer-facing models.
The law requires chatbot operators, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to verify the ages of users and restrict the use of certain traits by the artificial intelligence interface if the user is under 18.
If used by a minor, chatbots would not be able to produce any content that could leave its user to believe it “is human, alive, or experiences human emotions,” the law states.
It also cannot generate outputs that makes the user think it “has a personal relationship, professional relationship, or an authority figure role,” nor can it frame the content it produces as being a “personal opinion.”
“No longer will minors have access to chatbots that pretend to be their friends, boyfriends and girlfriends,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a signing ceremony Wednesday.
“No longer will chatbots be able to keep sensitive information about a minor’s emotional and physical health,” Hochul added.
Other US states including California have also passed laws restricting chatbots, but the law signed by Hochul imposes some of the broadest language in regulating the tech, prompting backlash from AI companies.