Millions of students now study with AI chatbots. There are growing concerns about what happens when vulnerable teens form emotional bonds with AI. Tragic teen deaths have sparked intense debate about how to protect young people from AI systems that blur the line between tool and companion. California just drew the first regulatory lines—but they're messy and educational AI is caught in the middle. In this short episode, Libby and Owen discuss the trade-off between building guardrails for safety, and achieving ambitious goals.
This matters beyond California: when the state that's home to OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic sets the rules, this has consequences for classrooms everywhere.
Links
SB 243 Text: Companion Chatbots
AB 1064 Veto Message
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Credits: Sarah Myles for production support; Josie Hills for graphic design; Anabel Altenburg for content production.
