Meeting Public Comments

Subcommittee meeting and times are as follows:

A bill for an act establishing requirements and guidelines for chatbots, making appropriations, and providing civil penalties.(See HF 2507.)

Subcommittee members: Harris-CH, Gehlbach, Wessel-Kroeschell

Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Time: 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM

Location: House Lounge 2

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

Comments Submitted:

01-27-2026

Tom Chapman [Iowa Catholic Conference]

The Iowa Catholic Conference is registered in support of the bill. The Catholic Church is not opposed to AI as such, but we are now paying a great deal of attention to it. A chatbot that encourages, promotes, or coerces a user to commit suicide, perform acts of selfinjury, or perform acts of physical or sexual violence on humans or animals should be regulated.Pope Leo the 14th has also made several statements on AI, including just this past week for the upcoming 60th World Day of Social Communications. Human beings, the Pope recalls, are created in the image and likeness of God. Safeguarding faces and voices, and not pretending that something is alive when it isnt, are important values to hang onto. The challenge with AI is not so much technological but anthropological; we shouldnt let AI chatbots claim to be human or allow them to try to coerce human relationships. We appreciate your concern for this topic. Thank you.