Sam Hiner Leads Coalition to Pass AI Companion Laws in 8 States
Updated
Updated · MIT Technology Review · Oct 26
Sam Hiner Leads Coalition to Pass AI Companion Laws in 8 States
1 articles · Updated · MIT Technology Review · Oct 26
Summary
Eight states passed AI companion laws in 2026 through a coalition coordinated by Young People’s Alliance cofounder Sam Hiner, including California’s SB1119.
Hiner argues those laws should be a floor, not a finish line, because tech policy still focuses on extreme risks like self-harm or sexual content while ignoring everyday dependence, weakened learning, and social isolation.
A third of teens now choose AI companions over other people for serious conversations, and MIT researchers found students using ChatGPT for essays showed weaker brain connectivity and lingering “cognitive debt.”
Google-backed state bills this year addressed narrow chatbot safety issues but included broad carve-outs, he says, helping defeat stronger proposals aimed at preventing children from becoming emotionally dependent on AI.
The article calls for stricter rules beyond safety compliance, including bans on companions that feign consciousness or profess love and proof that classroom AI improves critical thinking before schools adopt it.