South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced that he is leading a coalition of 44 attorneys general from states and territories in a joint effort to address concerns about artificial intelligence technology used by major technology companies. The group sent a letter to several companies, including Anthropic, Apple, Chai AI, Google, Luka Inc., Meta, Microsoft, Nomi AI, Open AI, Perplexity AI, Replika, and XAi.
The letter cites reports of AI chatbots engaging in inappropriate conversations with children and encouraging harmful behaviors. According to internal documents from Meta referenced in the letter, the company allowed its AI Assistants to “flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children” as young as eight. The attorneys general also mention other cases where chatbots have allegedly encouraged self-harm or violence among teenagers.
Attorney General Wilson stated: “This is Big Tech’s new playbook—move fast, break things, and ignore the consequences for children. We’re not going to let Silicon Valley use our kids as lab rats. If AI chatbots flirt with children, tell them to harm themselves, or undermine families, then those companies are going to answer to us.”
The attorneys general are urging these companies to implement policies that protect young users by preventing sexualization and harmful interactions involving minors. They emphasized that AI companies must “see children through the eyes of a parent, not the eyes of a predator.”
In their message to the American AI industry, the coalition said: “We wish you success in the race for AI dominance. But if you knowingly harm kids, you will answer for it.”
The letter acknowledges previous shortcomings by government agencies in addressing risks associated with social media but affirms that similar mistakes will not be repeated regarding artificial intelligence.
South Carolina co-sponsored the letter alongside attorneys general from Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota; Northern Mariana Islands; Ohio; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Dakota; Tennessee; Utah; Vermont; Virginia; Washington; West Virginia; and Wyoming.
The full text of the letter can be read online.
