By: Sen. Larry Walker III (R–Perry)
I grew up in a very different world from the one our children and grandchildren know today.
When I was a boy, there were no smartphones buzzing in our pockets, no social media feeds competing for our attention and certainly no artificial intelligence (AI) waiting on the other side of a screen. If you wanted to talk to a friend, you would find them in person or call their house. If you had a question, you asked a parent or teacher or opened a book. Those days are long gone.
Today, our children carry more technology in their pockets than any of us could have imagined when we were their age. They can communicate with someone across the world in an instant, access nearly unlimited information and now hold conversations with AI chatbots that can sound remarkably like another human being. The evolution of technology has enabled us to achieve things we never imagined decades ago, let alone years ago, and I’m certainly not interested in turning back the clock. However, we are at a crossroads where we are outpacing our ability to regulate the very technology that’s opened the door to these achievements.
Technology has created opportunities that simply did not exist when I was growing up. AI has the potential to help Georgia remain competitive, create new jobs and prepare our next generation for careers we have not even imagined yet.
For those of us who grew up before the internet, it can sometimes be difficult to appreciate just how much of a young person’s life now happens online. The dangers we worried about when our children were young were usually easier to see. We knew who was knocking on the front door or calling the house. We knew where our children were going and, for the most part, who they were going with. Today, something harmful can reach a child without ever setting foot inside the home or even our community.
Government should never take the place of a parent, but I do believe we have a responsibility to make sure parents have the tools they need to protect their families from bad actors who seek to cause harm. That is why I was proud to support Senate Bill 540 earlier this year.
The legislation establishes common-sense guardrails for AI chatbots interacting with minors. It requires that children be informed when they are communicating with AI rather than a real person and gives parents additional controls over their children’s use of these platforms.
It also establishes protections against sexually explicit interactions and other inappropriate AI-generated content involving minors. When a child expresses thoughts of suicide or self-harm, the law also requires safeguards designed to connect that young person with appropriate crisis resources rather than allowing an AI system to encourage additional dangerous behavior. Parents should have a say in how their children interact with these systems, and no technology should be designed to exploit a child’s vulnerability.
None of this means Georgia should fear technology. I want Georgia to remain a place where new ideas are developed, new businesses invest and our children are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. With the next legislative session quickly approaching, these conversations won’t stop with what we accomplished this year. Technology is moving too fast for us to assume that a single piece of legislation or a single legislative session can answer every question it raises.
We need to keep listening to parents about what they are seeing at home, to young people who use these technologies every day, and to the experts and innovators who understand where this technology may be headed next. Just this month, we held a Middle Georgia listening day to keep these conversations moving in the right direction, and I’m proud to say it was a success for all involved. We do not need to regulate every new piece of technology that comes along, but we also cannot afford to wait until a problem becomes a crisis before we address it.
My generation grew up learning to look both ways before crossing the street, not to talk to strangers and to come home when the streetlights came on. Those lessons were simple because the dangers were easier to recognize. The next generation will need those lessons, plus a few more catered to meet them where they are. I may not have grown up in a digital world, but my children and grandchildren live in one. We owe it to them to make sure it is a world where innovation creates opportunity without sacrificing their safety.
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Sen. Larry Walker III serves as President Pro Tempore of the Senate. He represents the 20th Senate District, which includes Bleckley, Dodge, Dooly, Laurens, Pulaski, Treutlen and Wilcox counties, as well as a portion of Houston County. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-0095 or by email at Larry.Walker@senate.ga.gov.
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