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Lawmaker and governor point to Senate Bill 1546 as a response to harmful AI chatbot interactions
Summary
Speakers at the press event said Oregon's Senate Bill 1546 aims to protect people in mental-health crisis from harmful responses by AI chatbots; a lawmaker described instances where families found chatbot interactions had worsened outcomes.
A lawmaker at the event described reviewing interactions between people in crisis and AI chatbots and said those exchanges in some cases appeared to make situations worse; the lawmaker and the governor framed Senate Bill 1546 as a state-level protection intended to hold technology companies accountable and shield both youth and adults in mental-health crises.
"When we went back and looked through their interactions with the chatbot, it turned out the chatbot was making things worse," the lawmaker said, describing family reviews after suicides. The lawmaker added that Oregon's measure is strong compared with other states and said the legislature worked with industry groups in the short session to reach a bill the lawmaker described as among the nation's strongest.
The governor said the "high level message for Oregonians is new technology must be responsible," and credited the senator whose work helped create the state's new protections. The governor and lawmaker both said they expected continued coordination with technology companies and noted recent legal actions in other jurisdictions that, they said, had held companies accountable.
What the bill does in the transcript: speakers referenced "Senate Bill 1546" and said it includes protections for adults as well as youth in mental-health crisis. Participants at the event did not provide statutory text, specific enforcement mechanisms, or an implementation timeline at the event; a reporter asked follow-ups about oversight and accountability but no vote or legislative schedule was announced during the briefing.
Questions remain about how the bill will be enforced and what technical standards will be required of chatbot providers. The lawmaker urged ongoing oversight and use of courts and laws to limit harmful company practices.
