US House subcommittee seeks answers to mental health issues stemming from AI chatbot use

After months of headlines drawing the public's attention to a variety of mental health crises experienced by individuals who used chatbots powered by artificial intelligence, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing 18 Nov. to ask experts about the safety risks chatbots pose and what should be done from a legislative or regulatory perspective to mitigate them. 

Lawmakers took turns lamenting how a number of chatbot users have developed various forms of psychosis — with some, including adolescents, dying by suicide following periods of prolonged engagement. Their line of questioning to witnesses and the responses they elicited suggest there is ample room for Congress to pursue bi-partisan legislation to ensure chatbots interacting with the public are safe in both recreational and therapeutic applications.

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y. expressed concern that adolescents and younger children are particularly affected as they are likely to use chatbots more frequently than their parents. She also said the prolonged use of "companion" chatbots by some children has fostered "deeply dependent" relationships that result in the children struggling to differentiate "between real human relationships and what they perceive to have with the chatbot."   

"Innovation should not have to be stifled to ensure safety, inclusion and equity are truly priorities in the decisions that affect Americans' lives," said Clarke, the subcommittee's ranking member. "A new term has been coined, 'AI psychosis,' which describes when a user's interaction with a chatbot leads to distorted beliefs or even delusions. As we've seen in some absolutely tragic cases, users experiencing mental health crises have even taken their own lives after extensive use of these chatbots."

A 'double-edged sword for mental health'