Just like artificial intelligence itself, concerns about AI are everywhere. In the absence of federal action, lawmakers in New York are stepping up to keep people safe and hold companies accountable.

Just last week, the New York City Council held a historic full-Council hearing to investigate the growing concerns New Yorkers have about AI. In September, the mayor and the schools chancellor kicked off the new school year by implementing the nation’s most expansive AI moratorium. Now, even industry leaders are saying we need to slow down because the technology is out of control.

As New York State legislators, we’re proud to have worked with families, experts, and state Attorney General Tish James to pass bipartisan, nation-leading legislation in June to protect our kids from AI-powered chatbots with unsafe features. We urge Gov. Hochul to sign it as passed.

It’s no secret that the AI conversation has reached a fever pitch — with now daily stories about AI’s existential risk and loud and well-resourced interests on all sides of the equation. It’s confusing, and it’s overwhelming, but as we grapple with these existential questions about our future, we must address the very real, present-day risks AI technology poses to our youth and their safety online. That is why we worked so hard to pass our bill, and that is why it is so important that it be signed into law now.

The story of Adam Raine’s use of ChatGPT that, according to a lawsuit against OpenAI, led to his suicide is tragic. But it showed a vulnerability relatable to all parents: a teenager struggling to understand how they fit in, their body and mind changing, and looking for acceptance in an increasingly difficult world. As so many of us do in 2026, kids are turning to AI-powered solutions created by companies that are motivated by profit, not safety. And when unsafe features are built into the tools our kids use to learn, grow, play, and develop, we put their well-being and their lives at risk.

Earlier this year, we worked with our Democratic and Republican colleagues in the state Senate and Assembly to pass legislation that will require AI chatbot companies — like OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, X, and others — to restrict the very kinds of harmful design features that led Adam Raine and several other teenagers to take their own lives. Our bill requires companies to make the safety of kids a top priority. That means shifting incentives that keep kids hooked and prohibiting companies from allowing minors to access chatbots that promote dangerous activities like self-harm, sexualized play, or even suicide.

AG Tish James partnered with us on this effort to ensure these new rules are legally sound and can be updated in the future. More than 20 organizations statewide support the bill, including teacher unions, mental health practitioners, social workers, and advocacy groups powered by the voices of everyday New York parents and kids.

It feels like AI is a race beyond our control and the technology is imposed on us, not done alongside us, and certainly not for us. But we are not powerless, and there is so much lawmakers can do to protect our families and the most vulnerable among us.

With the stroke of a pen, the governor can keep kids safe from AI’s most predatory features and continue to grow New York’s role as a responsible leader of the AI revolution. We must build a future that maximizes technology’s opportunity, one that articulates a clear vision for people and where people have a say, and one that safeguards against AI’s greatest threats to humanity’s future: our children.

Gonzalez, a state senator, and Bores, an assemblyman, are the prime sponsors of the bill to ban risky AI-powered chatbots directed at children.