Illinois has passed a bill banning the adoption of artificial intelligence chatbots to support mental health therapy.
The “Therapy Resource Monitoring” Act prohibits licensed mental health professionals in Illinois from using AI to make treatment decisions or to communicate with clients. Additionally, businesses are banning recommendations for chatbot therapy tools as all alternatives to traditional treatments.
Enforcement of the bill relies on public complaints that it will be investigated by the Illinois Department of Finance and Specialist Regulation. According to the legal text, anyone who determines that they are violating the prohibition could face a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
Two Republican-run states, Utah and Nevada, respectively, passed similar laws in May and late June, respectively, which would limit AI's capabilities in mental health services.
Unregulated chatbots can have harmless conversations in all directions, sometimes accidentally leaking sensitive information, or pushing people in already vulnerable situations to do something dramatic like taking their lives, experts warn.
A Stanford University survey released in June found that many chatbots that are programmed to respond enthusiastically to users cannot be avoided regarding prompts, including requests for Takahashi's high bridge at certain locations.
While chatbots are clear assertive regardless of circumstances, therapists provide support and tools to help patients improve, Beyerright, senior director of the American Psychological Association's Office of Healthcare Innovation, told the Washington Post.
“Therapists examine it, but it is also our job to point out when someone is engaged in unhealthy thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
However, bans are difficult to implement effectively and cannot prevent everyday people from relying on AI for their own mental health assistance.
A new study published in early August found that bots like ChatGpt were inducing “AI psychosis” in unconscious users who have no history of mental illness.
Approximately 75% of Americans have used some form of AI in the last six months, and 33% report using it daily for everything from homework to desperate romantic connections. This deep involvement fosters the psychological distress of heavy users, according to research in digital marketing.
In particular, many young people fall through the rabbit hole in chatbots and rely on machines to compensate for human interaction.
Chariture.ai is a popular platform where users can create and share chatbots based on fictional characters, and after a Florida teen fell in love with his “Game of Thrones” AI character and took his life, he had to issue a warning that made it clear that the bots “should not rely on them as facts or advice.”
The platform still handles lawsuits filed against the company for the death of a teenager. Despite repeated attempts to dismiss it on First Amendment reasons, the federal judge ruled that the case could move forward in August.
Another Texas family sued the character after a chatbot on an app called “shonie” encouraged his autistic son to cut himself off.
