SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A bill in the state Capitol would give schools the power to punish students for using AI as a way of bullying other kids.
Artificial intelligence technology has the ability to make images in seconds with just a simple prompt. For example, a kid wanting to bully another student could just ask an AI to create an image of the student in unflattering ways. It can also be used to create images that are explicit in nature.
The bill led by Illinois Democrats would add cyberbullying to the school code. It would ban kids from using a digital replica to bully one of their peers or use an AI algorithm to create explicit images of other students.
When the proposal was called on the Senate floor, lawmakers said this form of AI bullying has been happening in schools.
"This has been an issue that continues to arise with the development of AI and so this bill will hopefully take care of that in terms of bullying," state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Crest Hill) said.
Adding this language to the school code will allow Illinois schools to punish students if they use this technology as a method of bullying.
While this is a Democratic plan, Republicans also gave their support to the bill.
"Many of us on the floor on both sides have talked about the need for addressing the AI and social media problem of bullying, mental health and anxiety problems caused by that especially when it comes to minors," state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said.
The legislation passed out of the House and the Senate with unanimous support. This proposal now heads to the Governor's office, where it could be signed into law.
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