New York Passes AI Emotions Law That Might Make It Illegal For AI To Say ‘I Love You’ Forevermore

In today’s column, I examine a newly passed law in New York that tries to save us from unruly AI but may inadvertently create mayhem instead of serving its intended purpose: protecting humans from AI-based emotional manipulation. I’ve previously analyzed many dozens of state-level AI laws that pertain to human psychology, well-being, and mental health. In doing so, I’ve repeatedly noted that these shiny new laws tend to be poorly written and open the door to a tsunami of legal battles by AI makers and those fielding AI.

Add this New York law to the contentious pile. If lawmakers had followed my seven recommended steps to craft robust, sensible AI laws (see the link here), this new law might have been straightforward from the start. Efforts to devise AI laws often fall short because lawmakers don’t fully understand what AI is, or because they rely on presumed AI advisors who don’t know how to write exacting laws. In any case, I will walk you through the loopholes and gotchas this law inadvertently creates when it comes to preventing AI from emotionally manipulating users.

Let’s talk about it. This analysis of AI breakthroughs is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage of the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining key AI complexities (see the link here).

AI And Human Psychology

As quick background, I’ve extensively covered and analyzed many facets of the advent of modern-era AI and its impact on human psychology, well-being, and mental health. For a handy list of over one hundred of my analyses on this highly significant topic, see the link here and the link here. The growing use of AI has largely been spurred by rapid advances in generative AI and large language models (LLMs), including the widespread use of ChatGPT, GPT-5, Claude, Grok, Gemini, Copilot, and others.

State Laws On AI

New AI Law In New York

Portraying AI As Emotional

The Clauses In The New York Law

Let’s concentrate on this portion (excerpts):