AI Minister Considers Age Restrictions on Chatbot Access

MONTREAL — Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon announced that an upcoming privacy bill might include age restrictions on AI chatbot access to safeguard children. This comes amid increasing concerns over mental health issues and hallucinations induced by AI systems.

In the United States, wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against AI chatbots by parents of teenagers who died by suicide. Solomon discussed his approach to AI regulation at the Govern or Be Governed conference in Montreal, where one of the parents involved in these lawsuits also spoke.

Megan Garcia filed a lawsuit in Florida last year against Character.AI after her 14-year-old son died by suicide. In Montreal, she urged policymakers outside the U.S. to take action.

Solomon mentioned discussing one of the suicide cases with OpenAI representatives, emphasizing the difficulty in drawing regulatory conclusions from tragic incidents. While he remains opposed to broad AI regulation, he is open to addressing specific urgent issues.

He is also considering including the right to delete deepfakes in the legislation, believing Canadians want action on deceptive AI-produced content. Solomon is open to feedback from Canadians and experts working on updating Canada's AI strategy, noting that 6,500 Canadians have participated in the government's consultation.