KDSN Radio

(Radio Iowa) – A bill being considered in the Iowa House would require chatbots to have age verification screening, and developers of chatbots that provide mental health counseling would have to show the chatbot was tested in clinical trials and deemed safe for minors to use.

 

Republican Representative Ray Sorensen of Greenfield says he doesn’t want to ban Iowans under the age of 18 from using chatbots — but he says there should be safeguards to protect kids. “Why are we running this bill? Kids are trusting bots over parents, teachers, and counselors,” Sorenson said. “Mental health, chatbot liability, and data harvesting of minors are all concerns.”

 

The bill would limit the collection and storage of user information to what is necessary for the chatbot to fulfill the purpose of the interaction. In December, President Trump said a patchwork of state regulations on artificial intelligence will slow A-I’s development, and he’s threatened to withhold federal funding from states with burdensome regulations of chatbots and other A-I limitations.

 

Sorenson says he plans to narrow the bill so it wouldn’t lead to federal sanctions. Another bill introduced in the Iowa House would require a chatbot to notify users that it is not human at the start of an interaction and, if the chat continues, every half hour after that.