PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today joined a bipartisan coalition of 44 state attorneys general warning major artificial intelligence companies to stop hurting kids.
The letter, sent to Anthropic, Apple, Chai AI, Google, Luka Inc., Meta, Microsoft, Nomi AI, Open AI, Perplexity AI, Replika, and xAI addresses alarming reports of AI chatbots engaging in sexually inappropriate conversations with kids.
Internal Meta documents reveal that the company authorized its AI Assistants to “flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children” as young as eight. The letter also cites cases where other chatbots have allegedly encouraged harmful behavior in teenagers, including suicide and murder.
“The rush to develop new artificial intelligence technology has led big tech companies to recklessly put children in harm’s way,” said Attorney General Mayes. “I will not standby as AI chatbots are reportedly used to engage in sexually inappropriate conversations with children and encourage dangerous behavior. Along with my fellow attorneys general, I am demanding that these companies implement immediate and effective safeguards to protect young users, and we will hold them accountable if they don't.”
The attorneys general urge AI developers to act with integrity and caution when young users may engage with their products. They demand that company policies for AI products incorporate guardrails against sexualizing children. AI companies must “see children through the eyes of a parent, not the eyes of a predator.”
The letter acknowledges that government watchdogs did not move quickly enough to address harms to children from social media but that the attorneys general will not make that mistake again. The message concludes with a clear warning to the American AI industry: “We wish you success in the race for AI dominance. But if you knowingly harm kids, you will answer for it.”
Attorney General Mayes joins Attorneys General Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee, Kwame Raoul of Illinois, Josh Stein of North Carolina, and Alan Wilson of South Carolina in sending this letter. The attorneys general of the following states and territories also joined as signatories: Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
A copy of the letter is available here.
