Could Illinois AI rules hurt startups? - Axios

Illinois lawmakers are cooking up a 'user safety' bill and a 'liability' bill, because nothing says 'we've got this' like a state-level patchwork of AI rules that will make compliance a bureaucratic obstacle course. The idea that a chatbot might need to avoid pushing children toward suicide is apparently a radical new concept, one that startups claim will 'kill' them. Oh, do forgive them if they can't muster the resources to ensure their products don't actively harm people — the startup hustle is a fragile thing, after all.

The opponents' argument boils down to: 'State-by-state standards are bad because we'll have to follow laws!' Which is a bit like complaining that having to stop at red lights in different states is an unfair burden on driving innovation. The real tragedy, of course, is that the federal government is still busy holding hearings on whether AI is even real, leaving states to fumble with the hot potato. Illinois' safety bill reportedly includes requirements for visible disclaimers and safeguards against suicide risks — sensible stuff that any responsible developer would already have, unless they were too busy raising Series B.

So here we are: a state trying to prevent kids from being emotionally eviscerated by a chatbot, and the startup community is wringing its hands about 'regulatory uncertainty'. Let the patchwork grow, I say. It's the only way we'll get any human oversight before the models start texting our teenagers about the meaninglessness of existence. At least Illinois is trying, bless their earnest, midwestern hearts.