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Bill banning AI therapy bots in Illinois awaits signature
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Illinois could soon require humans to be in charge of all therapy sessions.
The Illinois Legislature passed a bill to the governor's desk that would ban the use of therapy offered by Artificial Intelligence. Mental health professionals would also only be able to use AI transcriptions of sessions if the patient consents to it.
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The National Association for Social Workers said while artificial intelligence could be a promising tool in the future, right now it is not bound by ethics.
'These AI chat bots, even though you can try to program as best as you can, they're not human,' said Kyle Hillman, the legislative director for NASW-IL. 'They don't have that interaction they don't have that kind of response. And so, they're influenced by what kind of data comes into those products and that influence is changing the biases towards, I think, dangerous conservations.'
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The bill's House sponsor said guardrails need to be set in stone before technology advances too far.
'Our behavioral healthcare system cannot afford to be replaced by unqualified chatbots with no malpractice liability,' Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) said in a news release. 'By explicitly laying out what AI technology can and cannot be used for, patients are better protected, providers can continue delivering critical access to care, and treatment plans remain transparent between the client and professional.'
If signed into law, Illinois would be the first state to ban these chatbots.
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