AI requires accountability

In the recent Daily Herald article titled, “Illinois Senate Democrats introduce bills to regulate AI” the author, Jenna Schweikert highlights a crucial piece of legislation. Specifically, Senate Bill 316, which requires interactive chatbots to feature mental health guardrails and promote positive resources to help its young users. As these AI programs become integrated into the everyday lives of teenagers, this issue must be addressed. Companies have failed to regulate these systems prompting the state to step in and protect individuals before the problem continues to escalate.

An example of this is addressed in the article, “Adolescence Health and Generative AI-Risks and Benefits” which states that 12% of adolescents use AI to seek emotional support and in a recent case, a young boy died of suicide after confiding in AI and receiving negative advice. When adolescents trust systems that lack human empathy, these unfiltered chatbots can worsen crises by encouraging the wrong course of action instead of directing the user to real world help.

Moreover, according to a study by the Brown University School of Public Health, among the kids using these bots, 66% use them monthly. This alarming statistic proves that teenagers are not using these bots out of curiosity, but they are developing habitual emotional dependencies on this software.

We cannot afford to allow tech companies to experiment on these kids without legal action and accountability. The article informs the public on necessary laws that must be put into place. With increasing reliance on AI among minors, the rise of suicide and self harm simply do not deserve to go unnoticed.

Catalina Hernandez

Glenview