\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia is quickly becoming a national leader in figuring out how families, educators, and lawmakers should adapt to life with artificial intelligence. From new classroom conversations to the state\u2019s first major chatbot regulations, many are grappling with how to keep up with technology that moves faster than ever.Families Navigating AI at HomeRemember the dial-up days? Today, technology evolves in an instant\u2014and many parents are struggling to keep pace.David and Rachelle Young have set strict rules for their 7-year-old daughter Dyllan\u2019s online use.\u201cKids have a lot of access to the internet, and they can be shown something that we wouldn\u2019t normally approve of, and that\u2019s really scary,\u201d Rachelle Young said.David says his daughter\u2019s world looks nothing like what he had at her age\u2014making parental guidance more important than ever.Lawmakers Respond: A New Chatbot CrackdownConcerns about children talking to AI-powered chatbots have reached the state Capitol.Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson co-authored SB 243, signed into law this fall, marking California\u2019s first major attempt at regulating chatbot interactions.The new law requires companies to: Report safety concerns\u2014such as when a user expresses thoughts of self-harm Clearly notify users that they are talking to a computer, not a person\u201cThey don\u2019t want you to turn your phone off. They want you to think that you’re talking to a real friend, but they don\u2019t have that same level of morality,\u201d she said. Her concerns stem from real-world consequences: last year, a 14-year-old in Florida took his own life after forming what his family described as a \u201crelationship\u201d with a chatbot.Inside the Classroom: Understanding AI\u2019s InfluenceAt UC Davis, Associate Professor Jingwen Zhang is tackling these issues head-on. She created a course examining how social media, artificial intelligence and chatbots shape human behavior.”Children used to form social relationships by talking in person or texting. Now they\u2019re having similar levels of conversations with chatbots,” she said.Zhang says SB 243 is a strong first step but believes more protections are needed\u2014especially for minors.She recommends future regulations that: Create stricter guardrails for what topics children can discuss with AI Limit exposure to sensitive or harmful content Add tighter controls for minor accountsA Rapidly Changing LandscapeParents, educators, and policymakers all agree: keeping up with AI will require constant learning.\u201cWe have to get to a place where companies are rolling out things that will not hurt the future generation,\u201d Sen. Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson said.What\u2019s Changing NextParents told KCRA 3 they want schools to start teaching more about AI safety and digital literacy.Starting this month, the popular Character AI platform is rolling out several major changes: Users under 18 will no longer be able to participate in open-ended chat Younger users will face a two-hour daily limit See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tSACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
California is quickly becoming a national leader in figuring out how families, educators, and lawmakers should adapt to life with artificial intelligence. <\/p>\n
From new classroom conversations to the state\u2019s first major chatbot regulations, many are grappling with how to keep up with technology that moves faster than ever.<\/p>\n
Families Navigating AI at Home<\/p>\n
Remember the dial-up days? Today, technology evolves in an instant\u2014and many parents are struggling to keep pace.<\/p>\n
David and Rachelle Young have set strict rules for their 7-year-old daughter Dyllan\u2019s online use.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids have a lot of access to the internet, and they can be shown something that we wouldn\u2019t normally approve of, and that\u2019s really scary,\u201d Rachelle Young said.<\/p>\n
David says his daughter\u2019s world looks nothing like what he had at her age\u2014making parental guidance more important than ever.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers Respond: A New Chatbot Crackdown<\/p>\n
Concerns about children talking to AI-powered chatbots have reached the state Capitol.<\/p>\n
Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson co-authored SB 243, signed into law this fall, marking California\u2019s first major attempt at regulating chatbot interactions.<\/p>\n
The new law requires companies to:<\/p>\n
Report safety concerns\u2014such as when a user expresses thoughts of self-harm Clearly notify users that they are talking to a computer, not a person<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t want you to turn your phone off. They want you to think that you’re talking to a real friend, but they don\u2019t have that same level of morality,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Her concerns stem from real-world consequences: last year, a 14-year-old in Florida took his own life<\/a> after forming what his family described as a \u201crelationship\u201d with a chatbot.<\/p>\n Inside the Classroom: Understanding AI\u2019s Influence<\/p>\n At UC Davis, Associate Professor Jingwen Zhang is tackling these issues head-on. <\/p>\n She created a course examining how social media, artificial intelligence and chatbots shape human behavior.<\/p>\n “Children used to form social relationships by talking in person or texting. Now they\u2019re having similar levels of conversations with chatbots,” she said.<\/p>\n Zhang says SB 243 is a strong first step but believes more protections are needed\u2014especially for minors.<\/p>\n She recommends future regulations that:<\/p>\n Create stricter guardrails for what topics children can discuss with AI Limit exposure to sensitive or harmful content Add tighter controls for minor accountsA Rapidly Changing Landscape<\/p>\n Parents, educators, and policymakers all agree: keeping up with AI will require constant learning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to get to a place where companies are rolling out things that will not hurt the future generation,\u201d Sen. Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson said.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Changing Next<\/p>\n Parents told KCRA 3 they want schools to start teaching more about AI safety and digital literacy.<\/p>\n Starting this month, the popular Character AI platform is rolling out several major changes:<\/p>\n Users under 18 will no longer be able to participate in open-ended chat Younger users will face a two-hour daily limit <\/p>\n See more coverage of top California stories here<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> | Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California is quickly becoming a national leader in figuring out how families, educators, and lawmakers should adapt to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2007,38158,2080,7,9,38159,8,4371,38160,37947,3409,1804,9631,32955,1431,721,5659,38161,4186,225,3411],"class_list":["post-63372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-ai","tag-ai-in-california","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-legislation","tag-california-news","tag-chatbot","tag-chatbot-crackdown","tag-chatbots","tag-child","tag-company","tag-david","tag-educator","tag-family","tag-law","tag-minor","tag-rachelle-young","tag-sb","tag-state","tag-user"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}