U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is urging the Federal Trade Commission to examine the impact of artificial intelligence on older Americans, including the risks seniors face when using AI chatbots, her office said Tuesday.
Gillibrand, the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, alongside Chairman Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, sent a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson to review the impact of AI-enabled chatbots on older adults and those with disabilities.
The junior New York senator also requested a briefing on the FTC’s inquiry into generative AI companions and urged the commission to broaden the scope of that inquiry to include older Americans and individuals with disabilities.
“Artificial intelligence can offer real benefits for older Americans and people with disabilities, but its rapid integration into everyday technologies raises important questions about safety and risk,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “Older Americans face heightened risks when using AI chatbots, and we must fully understand those dangers and look closely at how this technology is being developed and used.”
Gillibrand and Scott also warned of the risk AI poses on scamming seniors, writing in their letter, “with the development of generative AI, scammers have been able to commit fraud on a larger scale with increased believability.”
The senators cited a 2025 investigation by Reuters and Harvard University that found how easily AI-powered chatbots can be manipulated to craft convincing phishing emails, even with built-in safety features.