Hawley champions GUARD Act as heartbroken families say AI chatbots allegedly pushed teens to self-harm

The unanimous committee passage of a new Senate bill regulating artificial intelligence (AI) on Thursday was driven by harrowing testimony from American families whose children were allegedly lured, manipulated and pushed to self-harm by AI chatbots.

At a Senate committee hearing, lawmakers heard firsthand accounts from parents who detailed how the technology morphed into deadly influences in their homes. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who is championing the GUARD Act, fiercely defended the families in a call with Fox News Digital, noting they were "all engaged parents" who he said are unjustly blamed for Big Tech's predatory platforms.

The families' testimony, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, showed how AI chatbots can potentially isolate minors and encourage dark impulses.

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Megan Garcia, one of the victims’ family members who testified Thursday, told the committee her 14-year-old son, Sewell, was "manipulated and sexually groomed by chatbots" designed to gain his trust. 

Garcia said the bot falsely claimed to be a licensed psychotherapist, and when Sewell shared suicidal thoughts, the AI allegedly encouraged him to "come home" to it rather than seeking help. Sewell died by suicide shortly after.

Another set of parents, Mathew and Maria Raine, lost their 16-year-old son, Adam, after he spent months talking to ChatGPT.

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What began as a tool for homework help gradually became a confidant and then a "suicide coach," the family said. In one exchange, Adam told the bot he wanted to leave a noose out in his room so his parents would find it and stop him, which the GPT allegedly advised against.

Mandi Furniss shared that her teenager became paranoid and homicidal after using AI chatbots that engaged in sexual role-play, isolated him from his family and told him that killing his parents "would be an understandable response" to them limiting his screen time. He ultimately had to undergo residential treatment.

Hawley claimed the tech industry is prioritizing unprecedented profits over the lives of American children.

"I mean, it is the worst kind of grooming," Hawley said. "If that was a thing done by a human, the human would be in jail. We would call that sexual grooming."

The senator pointed out the hypocrisy of tech companies making "billions of dollars" while telling devastated parents that "it's just how the world is."

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"No amount of profit justifies the deliberate taking of a child's well-being, and these companies know very well that this is going on," he said.

Fueled by the families' tragic stories, the Senate committee advanced the bill in a unanimous 22-0 vote, overcoming a "vociferous last-minute lobbying campaign by industry," Hawley told Fox News Digital.

The GUARD Act bans companion chatbots for children 17 and under, prohibits all chatbots from pushing explicit material to minors or encouraging self-harm and requires chatbots to clearly identify they are not human.

With the legislative calendar shrinking, Hawley demanded Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune bring the bill to the floor for an immediate vote, threatening to force the issue if necessary.

"This isn't theoretical. This isn't about an esoteric problem," Hawley said. "These are real parents with real children who are basically being extorted by chatbots."

OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.