NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey is working to regulate artificial intelligence chatbots that offer mental health therapy.
As more people turn to AI to ask questions on various topics, lawmakers in New Jersey are looking to ban what they say are harmful chatbots, providing bad and even dangerous advice on mental health.
“If you Google 'AI therapists,' dozens of results pop up. There have been several recent high-profile stories of the negative consequences of people with mental health issues turning to AI therapy rather than seeking help from real mental health professionals,” said Assemblyman Dave Bailey.
He says these consequences include people harming others, harming themselves and even suicide. His bill would ensure consumers aren’t being misled into thinking that AI chatbots are a suitable replacement for real therapists.
“AI regulation has really become the ‘Wild West.’ We really need to put in guardrails to protect people,” Bailey said.
“These types of things have been happening, people have been listening to computer-generated chatbots and then committing violence against others, self-harm against themselves, and most alarmingly, AI chatbots have even encouraged this behavior.”
The bill has received committee approval, and Bailey says he is pushing to have this up for a full vote before the summer recess.