DAYTON — U.S. Sen. Jon Husted is advocating for federal legislation to protect children online from artificial intelligence, specifically chatbots. Husted has filed multiple bills in Congress aimed at safeguarding children as AI technology becomes more accessible.
Lawmakers are working to keep pace with the constantly evolving nature of AI and its potential impact on children. The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation supports the implementation of safeguards for children using AI, citing concerns over mental health issues.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Founder of local pizza restaurant dies after battle with cancer
- Local animal shelter searching for woman accused of dumping kitten
- Experts predict months before gas prices drop after Trump-Iran agreement
Husted has been a vocal advocate for child protection in the digital realm. He noted that he and his wife, Tina, have been warning about the negative effects technology can have on children.
“We’re trying to protect children in the digital world from the same things we wanna protect them from the physical world,” Husted said.
Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation CEO Tony Coder emphasized the need for protective measures. Coder pointed to instances across the country where children died by suicide after forming relationships with chatbots.
“We want to make sure that kids and young adults are protected,” Coder said. He added, “We think AI has great potential to do an awful lot of things. However, we want safeguards to be set up for our kids because we are seeing more and more increases in mental health concerns.”
Regulating artificial intelligence has also been a point of discussion at the federal level, with President Donald Trump expressing a desire for federal oversight.
Husted stressed the importance of federal law to protect against both domestic and foreign threats. “We need a federal law against it so that we can protect domestically, but also so that we can protect against foreign actors who may be trying to do these things from overseas,” Husted said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet scheduled a hearing for the bill.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]