Bill > SB1090

This bill, titled the Safeguarding Adolescents from Exploitative Chatbots and Harmful AI Technology Act, aims to establish disclosures and safeguards for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) companions, which are defined as AI systems designed to simulate a sustained human-like relationship by retaining user information, asking unsolicited emotion-based questions, and engaging in ongoing personal dialogue, but excluding systems used solely for customer service, business efficiency, internal employee use, video game features, or basic voice assistants that don't maintain relationships. Operators of AI companion platforms must clearly inform users when they are interacting with an AI and not a human, and implement protocols to prevent AI companions from generating content related to suicide, self-harm, or violence, including referring users expressing suicidal ideation to crisis services. For users known or suspected to be minors (under 18), operators must disclose they are interacting with AI, provide reminders every three hours that the AI is not human, and take reasonable steps to prevent the AI from generating sexually explicit content or instructing minors to engage in such conduct. The bill also requires operators to disclose that AI companions may not be suitable for some minors. The Attorney General is tasked with enforcing these provisions, with violators facing civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.