Politicians and public officials

Brian Schatz

U.S. senator for Hawaiʻi; member of the Senate leadership

3 records

Portrait source: United States Senate, Public domain

Records

“AI is an incredibly powerful tool – it’s everywhere, and it poses real risks for kids. We’ve seen reports of AI chatbots encouraging kids to hurt themselves and for some, they’re replacing real life relationships, isolating kids from their families and friends. Our bill will give parents better tools to keep their kids safe and hold AI companies accountable.”

Brian Schatz

U.S. senator for Hawaiʻi; member of the Senate leadership

In an April 2026 press release announcing the CHATBOT Act, Brian Schatz said AI poses real risks for kids, citing reports of AI chatbots encouraging kids to hurt themselves and, for some, replacing real-life relationships.

U.S. Senator for Hawai‘iApril 28, 2026Official Senate office press release announcing the CHATBOT Act

Source Archived

Context and checks

Surrounding words

With the right safeguards, AI systems can benefit a child’s education without putting their well-being at risk. The CHATBOT Act ensures America leads in deploying AI safely and responsibly.” Senator Schatz said: “AI is an incredibly powerful tool – it’s everywhere, and it poses real risks for kids. We’ve seen reports of AI chatbots encouraging kids to hurt themselves and for some, they’re replacing real life relationships, isolating kids from their families and friends. Our bill will give parents better tools to keep their kids safe and hold AI companies accountable.” Senator Curtis said: “Parents deserve both clarity and control over how their children interact with AI chatbots, which are becoming more integrated into their education and everyday lives,” said Senator Curtis.

What this quote does not say

The quotation cites reports rather than describing independently adjudicated incidents.
The quotation does not distinguish general-purpose assistants from companion chatbots.

How this was checked

Quote matched character-for-character against the captured page.

Reviewed by

an AI reviewer that read the whole source · an automatic character-by-character check

One piece about AI, because I think there’s lots of justified worry about what it’s going to do to intellectual property, to the education system, to energy use, to people’s sense of what it means to be a creative person. But two positive use cases that I’m very excited about. One is there are incredible opportunities in medical treatment, medical research, and we should lean as heavily into that as we can.

Exact quote, beginning

Brian Schatz

U.S. senator for Hawaiʻi; member of the Senate leadership

In a May 2026 Civil Beat interview, Brian Schatz said there is lots of justified worry about what AI will do to intellectual property, education, energy use and people's sense of being creative, and named medical research and dealing with bureaucracies as uses he is excited about.

U.S. Senator for Hawai‘iPublished May 10, 2026 · date of remarks not establishedOriginal in-person interview in Schatz's Honolulu office

Source Archived

Context and checks

Surrounding words

Now we can simply look people in the eye and say the cheapest electrons are generated from clean and renewable sources. And so we’re going to lean very heavily into that. One piece about AI, because I think there’s lots of justified worry about what it’s going to do to intellectual property, to the education system, to energy use, to people’s sense of what it means to be a creative person. But two positive use cases that I’m very excited about. One is there are incredible opportunities in medical treatment, medical research, and we should lean as heavily into that as we can. And the other is that AI, as it relates to interacting with bureaucracies, can cut both ways. And let me give you an example. We now know that some insurance companies are using AI to reject claims without having them even be reviewed by a medical professional.

What this quote does not say

Civil Beat states that the interview was edited for length and clarity.
This narrows and balances Schatz's framing; it is not a retraction of his earlier risk statements.

How this was checked

Quote matched character-for-character against the captured page.

Reviewed by

an AI reviewer that read the whole source · an automatic character-by-character check

Content made by AI should be clearly labeled as such so that people know what they're looking at. That's exactly what the bipartisan AI Labeling Act that Senator Kennedy and I introduced calls for.

Brian Schatz

U.S. senator for Hawaiʻi; member of the Senate leadership

In October 2023 Senate floor remarks, Brian Schatz said content made by AI should be clearly labeled so people know what they are looking at, which is what the AI Labeling Act he introduced with Senator Kennedy calls for.

U.S. Senator for Hawai‘iOctober 24, 2023U.S. Senate floor remarks transcribed by Schatz's official office

Source Archived

Context and checks

Surrounding words

But we do know where to start. This issue of distinguishing whether content is made by a human or made by a machine actually has a very straightforward solution. Content made by AI should be clearly labeled as such so that people know what they're looking at. That's exactly what the bipartisan AI Labeling Act that Senator Kennedy and I introduced calls for. It puts the onus where it belongs – on the companies and not the consumers. Very straightforward, because people shouldn't have to double and triple check or parse through thick lines of code to find out whether something was made by AI.

How this was checked

Quote matched character-for-character against the captured page.

Reviewed by

an AI reviewer that read the whole source · an automatic character-by-character check