As parents and as a society, we are facing one of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the history of humanity with the integration of AI systems into our lives. The comfort they bring in our daily basis has made us welcome them with open arms without thinking twice about their consequences, especially, the impact they could cause in the mental health of our minors.
In this sense, the EU AI Act, which establishes the harmonised legal framework for the development, commercialisation and use of AI systems in the EU, encourages to “(…) taking into account their respective rights and obligations in the context of this Regulation, to make an informed deployment of AI systems, as well as to gain awareness about the opportunities and risks of AI and possible harm it can cause”.
With the AI evolution, as parents and as a society we must also adapt ourselves and be pretty aware about what types of AI systems are our minors having access to, –especially in a such a critical age, in which their brains haven’t fully developed yet-.
The state of California (U.S.) has taken a step forward to protect minors. On October 13, 2025, its governor approved the Bill No. 243, with the aim, among others, of:
“(…) making a companion chatbot platform safer for users, if a reasonable person interacting with a companion chatbot would be misled to believe that the person is interacting with a human, require an operator of a companion chatbot platform to issue a clear and conspicuous notification indicating that the companion chatbot is artificially generated and not human. The bill would also require an operator to take certain actions with respect to a user the operator knows is a minor, including disclose to the user that the user is interacting with artificial intelligence. The bill would also require an operator to prevent a companion chatbot on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the production of suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm content to the user, as specified, and would require an operator to publish details on that protocol on the operator’s internet website”.
This law, which will come into force in 2027, is a great advance in the protection of our minors and a warning to large AI companies operating in California.
Do you think there is enough information and regulation regarding Companion chatbots?
I read you.
#SafeCompanionChatbots #AIWithCare #ChatbotSafety #AICalifornia
RuneLex AI 
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