NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6545C
SPONSOR: Zaccaro TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to imposing
liability for damages caused by a chatbot impersonating certain licensed
professionals
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would prohibit an operator of a chatbot to knowingly permit
such chatbot to impersonate an actual or fictitious practitioner of a
covered profession in a manner that, if done by a natural person, would
constitute unauthorized practice or unauthorized use of a professional
title as a crime in relation to professions who licensure is governed by
the education law or the judiciary law.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. The general business law is amended to include a new section
390-f that defines artificial intelligence, generative artificial intel-
ligence, chatbot, covered profession, operator and prohibits an operator
of a chatbot to knowingly permit impersonate an actual or fictitious
practitioner of a covered profession in a manner that, if done by a
natural person, would constitute a crime under sections 6512 or 6513 of
the education law in relation to a covered profession or would violate
article 15 of the judiciary law prohibiting the practice or appearance
of as an attorney-at-law without being admitted and registered under
such article. An operator shall be deemd to know that a chatbot cannot
lawfully practice a covered profession or appear as an attorney-at-law.
Operators may not waive or disclaim this liability by notifying consum-
ers that they are interacting with a non-human chatbot system, and an
Operator shall not be liable where the impersonation is a result of a
user intentionally circumventing the terms of service or the safeguards
implemented by the operator to prevent such impersonation. Operators
utilizing chatbots shall provide clear, conspicuous, and explicit notice
to users that they are interacting with an artificial intelligence chat-
bot program in the same language the chatbot is using and in a size
easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest
font size of other text appearing on the website on which the chatbot is
utilized.
The attorney general may bring an action against an operator that
violates any unlawful practices in this section and may seek civil
penalties of up to 15,000 dollars per day for a violation. The attorney
general shall maintain a website to receive complaints, information or
referrals from members of the public concerning violations of this
section.
Section 2. Effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has changed our world in more ways than
we can imagine and continues to ever-evolve based on societal needs.
According to a New York Times article published on February 24, 2025
titled Human Therapists Prepare for Battle Against A.I. Pretenders, the
American Psychological Association warned that chatbots "failed to chal-
lenge user's beliefs, even when they became dangerous; on the contrary
they encouraged them," and added that if this advice was given by a
human therapist those answers "could have resulted in the loss of a
license to practice, or civil or criminal liability."
This experience is not unique to users utilizing chatbots for therapy.
One user asked a chatbot for medical advice, only to be given a fake
doctor's name, but a doctor's real license number and other credentials
to practice medicine. Another user who sought legal assistance acted
upon the advice of a chatbot to reopen a lawsuit that was already
settled and dismissed, including firing the user's lawyer and pursue the
case using AI-generated motions and notices. These should not be viewed
as isolated incidents, but rather are among a growing number of examples
for why action is needed.
This bill prohibits operators of A.I. chatbots from knowingly permitting
the chatbot to impersonate an actual or fictitious practitioner of a
covered profession in a manner that, if done by a natural person, would
constitute unauthorized practice or unauthorized use of a professional
title as a crime in relation to professions who licensure is governed by
the education law or the judiciary law. The covered professions include
Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy,
Nursing, Podiatry, Optometry, Engineering, Land Surveying and Geology,
Architecture, Psychology, Social Work, Mental Health Practitioners and
Attorneys.
Additionally, the Office of the Attorney General may bring an action
against an operator of that violates any unlawful practices under the
bill, seek civil penalties of up to fifteen thousand dollars per day for
violations and maintain a website to receive complaints, information or
referrals from members of the public concerning violations. This bill
ensures professional advice is provided only by licensed human profes-
sionals and not by artificial intelligence or chatbots.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
