Senator Mark Kelly's (D-AZ) Senior Chatbot Protection Act, which he introduced in July, is gaining support from numerous organizations and individuals across medicine, mental health, consumer protection, tech policy, and ordinary families.
The Senior Chatbot Protection Act: A Refresher
Sen. Kelly's bipartisan bill requires companies to more clearly tell users they are talking to an AI, not a living person or licensed professional, especially when conversations involve topics such as health care, estate planning, guardianship, or a crisis, so that the chatbot would provide additional warnings, direct users toward appropriate support, and make clear it is not a substitute for qualified professional advice.
Additionally, the bill calls for greater protection of sensitive discussion topics by imposing limits on companies' use of covered conversation data for targeted advertising, profiling, sharing with third parties, or AI training without clear consent, and allowing users to delete conversation history, along with the inclusion of means to prevent excessive chatbot use and reliance.
Who is Backing It?
Several prominent organizations have lauded Sen. Kelly's Senior Chatbot Protection Act, including the Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Psychological Association Services (APA Services), National Council on Aging (NCOA), the Alliance for Secure AI, Digital Progress Institute, Institute for Family Studies (IFS), and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
Kelly's AI Stewardship Agenda
Responsible artificial intelligence (AI) development has been of keen interest to the Arizona Senator, having introduced his AI for America plan in September, which focuses on the AI Horizon Fund, a system in which the leading AI companies contribute toward the provision of resources needed to reinvest in workers, infrastructure, and responsible deployment.
In November, Kelly urged Senate Committee on Aging Chairman Rick Scott (R-FL) to hold a hearing on the impact of AI on seniors.
This year, April saw Kelly team up with Senator Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) to demand the integration of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) 's principles on artificial intelligence (AI) into federal workplace policy.
In June, he introduced four bills related to AI in the military and to studies of its impacts on the workforce and seniors.
