Advocates working with young people say AI chatbots are becoming increasingly common among teens seeking conversation or emotional support.
PORTLAND, Oregon — Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed a series of bills Thursday aimed at improving behavioral health services in Oregon, including legislation designed to protect young people interacting with artificial intelligence chatbots during mental health crises.
One of the measures, Senate Bill 1546, creates new safeguards for AI chatbot companies operating in Oregon. The bill requires companies to implement systems capable of detecting signs of self-harm in users and prohibits chatbots from encouraging or supporting those thoughts.
“New technology must be responsible,” Kotek said during the bill signing ceremony in Northeast Portland.
The legislation was sponsored by Lisa Reynolds, a Democrat representing Oregon Senate District 17. Reynolds said the bill was prompted in part by reports of chatbot interactions worsening mental health struggles for vulnerable users.
“People who died by suicide, whose family had no idea these folks were struggling, and then when they went back and looked through their interactions with a chatbot, it turned out the chatbot was making things worse,” Reynolds said.
Advocates working with young people say AI chatbots are becoming increasingly common among teens seeking conversation or emotional support.
Yatee, a youth volunteer with Lines for Life’s YouthLine crisis service, said teens frequently contact the peer support line after interacting with AI chatbots.
“AI isn’t human, and it doesn’t know what we feel, nor does it know how we interact with each other as people,” Yatee said.
YouthLine is a free peer-to-peer support and crisis line serving young people across Oregon.
Yatee testified before lawmakers in Salem earlier this year in support of the legislation, warning that some young people in crisis may not fully understand how AI systems respond to sensitive personal information.
“A lot of our callers are asking us if we are AI, and I can see they are concerned with whether or not they are talking to a real human, too,” Yatee said. “So a lot of the people don’t know what AI is going to do with the information that they give, or how AI is going to react or the advice it’s going to give them.”
Reynolds said lawmakers must continue monitoring the impact of rapidly developing technology on public safety and mental health.
“We just need to be on the side of kids and also adults, to be clear that this bill, Senate Bill 1546, protects adults in mental health crisis as well,” Reynolds said.
Kotek also signed several additional behavioral health bills Thursday focused on workforce shortages and safety concerns in the field of behavioral health. The measures are intended to speed up licensing and credentialing processes, streamline background checks and help behavioral health providers enter the workforce more quickly.