Any time anything remotely controversial makes its way into the public domain someone takes up the “think of the children” rallying cry.

AI is no different.

According to a recent article in the Financial Times, the UK is exploring tougher laws on AI chatbots.

They’re not the only ones.

There have been rising concerns about children forming unhealthy relationships with generative AI chatbots, the potential for harmful or incorrect information being provided, and the possibility of the AI encouraging self-harm.

And these concerns are not unfounded.

More and more people, especially teenagers, are turning to AI for emotional support, and studies looking at how AI responds to these kinds of queries, and whether it can recognise serious mental health concerns, have highlighted some troubling results.

But while all the big AI companies have been working hard to put safeties in place, lawmakers are also turning their attention to the potential dangers.

Right about now you’re probably wondering, “What’s this got to do with me? I don’t offer mental health support or use AI for that in my business, so why are you telling me about this, Sandra?”

Great question, Reader

If you build chatbots, conversational assistants, or embed AI into your services, you’re going to want to anticipate the rising compliance/regulatory load that might be coming your way.

This might mean including disclaimers, adding safety checks, or age-gating your content.

But it’s not just worrying about the mental health of our kids that’s driving lawmakers to take action.

Bad legal or financial advice generated by AI is a definite concern.

As is the flood of unlabeled AI generated content that's finding its way onto every social platform; making it easier than ever to spread misinformation and incite people to take more extreme actions. Which, I hope I don’t have to tell you, is a problem.

So, if you’re adding AI into your business and services, or using it to help generate content, you might want to take some proactive actions by including disclaimers for any content touched by AI.

Things like:

• This post includes AI-assisted content.
• Some visuals are AI-generated; reviewed by a human editor.
• Information verified as of [month/year], not intended as legal or financial advice.

Disclaimer: AI helped me come up with those disclaimers ;)

If you're using AI in any part of your business, now is the time to get your safeguards in place. Don't wait for the regulators to come knocking. The bar is only going to get higher.

The future of business is AI supported. But the accountability? That's still all on you. So plan, and act, accordingly.

xo,
Sandra

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