Establishing requirements and guidelines for conversational AI services, and providing civil penalties, and including applicability provisions

This bill relates to requirements and guidelines for conversational AI services (AI services). The bill defines “conversational AI service” as an artificial intelligence, available by software application, web interface, or computer program, that is accessible to the general public and that has the primary purpose of simulating human conversation and interaction through text, audio communication, or visual communication. The bill lists exceptions to the definition of AI service. The bill defines “operator” as a person who develops and makes an AI service available to the public. The bill lists exceptions to the definition of “operator”. The bill also defines “account holder”, “minor”, “sexually explicit conduct”, and “visual depiction”. The bill requires an operator to clearly and conspicuously disclose to a minor account holder (minor) that the minor is interacting with artificial intelligence through a persistent visible disclaimer or a disclaimer that appears at the beginning of each interaction between the operator’s AI service and a minor and at least once every three hours of continuous interaction between the minor and the AI service. The bill prohibits an operator from providing a minor with points or similar rewards at unpredictable intervals with the intent to encourage increased engagement with the operator’s AI service. The bill requires an operator to prevent the operator’s AI service from producing visual depictions of sexually explicit material, stating that the minor account holder should engage in sexually explicit conduct, or sexually objectifying the minor account holder. The bill requires an operator to institute reasonable measures to prevent the operator’s AI service from leading a reasonable individual to believe the individual is interacting with a human. If the AI service would lead a reasonable individual to believe the individual is interacting with a human, the operator must clearly and conspicuously disclose using a persistent visible disclaimer, or a disclaimer that appears after three hours of continuous interaction with an AI service, that the AI service is artificial intelligence. The bill requires, in circumstances detailed in the bill, an operator to provide tools to a minor, a minor’s parent or guardian, or both that will allow the individual to manage the minor’s privacy and account settings. The bill requires an operator to adopt protocols for the operator’s AI service that would respond as detailed in the bill to user prompts of suicidal ideation or self-harm. The bill prohibits an operator from knowingly and intentionally causing or programming an AI service to make a representation or statement that would lead a reasonable person to believe the AI service is designed to provide professional psychology services or behavioral health services that would require licensure. The bill authorizes the attorney general to enforce the bill and adopt rules to administer the bill. An operator in violation of the bill is subject to an injunction and the greater of actual damages or a civil penalty of $1,000 per violation, up to a maximum of $500,000 per operator. Civil penalties collected under the bill shall be deposited into the general fund of the state. The bill does not create a private right of action and shall not be construed to make a developer of an artificial intelligence model liable solely because a third party used the developer’s artificial intelligence model to create or train an AI service. The bill applies July 1, 2027.