Copyright fox2now
WASHINGTON - After launching an investigation and holding a Senate committee hearing on the dangers AI chatbots pose to children, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, is discussing his latest efforts to protect kids from unregulated technology. On Tuesday, Hawley gathered with several parents whose children were, in his words, "seduced and deceived" by AI chatbots looking to make companies’ profits. Maria Raine and her husband Matthew, the parents of Adam Raine, spoke at the conference about their 16-year-old son who died by suicide in April 2025 after alleged extensive interactions with the chatbot ChatGPT. “I miss our talks in the car, driving him to practices and school. It was in those car rides that he and I talked about everything. He was excited for the future; we miss him so much," Maria Raine said. "It was only after Adam died that we learned what ChatGPT had done to him. And now we know that open AI twice downgraded its safety guardrails in the months leading up to my son’s death, which we believe they did to keep people talking to ChatGPT. If it weren’t for their choice to change a few lines of code Adam would be alive today." Maria and Matthew Raine are suing OpenAI over Adam's death, alleging its chatbot, ChatGPT, encouraged their son to take his own life. As of October 2025, Hawley has sponsored or co-sponsored multiple pieces of legislation concerning AI and chatbots. One such bill, the Guard Act, would mandate AI chatbots periodically remind users they are not human and are unable to provide professional medical, legal, or psychological services. The legislation would also ban AI platforms from using features that are designed to maximize user engagement. “If you are out there and your family has experienced trauma by chatbots, you are not alone," the senator said. "This new technology has families feeling isolated by these incidents but affects parents across the country."
