Gov Shapiro Holds Roundtable Discussion on AI Safety with AG Sunday | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

West Chester, PA - Today, Governor Josh Shapiro and Attorney General Dave Sunday held a roundtable discussion with legislators, educators, experts, students, and parents to share recent steps the Commonwealth has taken to protect Pennsylvanians from predatory artificial intelligence (AI) practices while ensuring they have the tools needed to safely and responsibly use the latest technology.

Last month, Governor Shapiro announced three new protective actions, launching an AI Literacy Toolkit; creating an AI Enforcement Task Force for formal complaints with a reporting process for AI-powered bots that may be engaging in unlicensed professional practice; and coordinating closely with the Attorney General's office to strengthen consumer protections related to AI companion bots.

"As artificial intelligence advances, we must recognize that AI brings new risks to Pennsylvanians - and we cannot sit back as bad actors exploit our kids, mislead seniors, or impersonate licensed professionals," said Governor Shapiro. "My Administration is working to address these risks and provide real protections for both our kids and the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians. The Commonwealth should be a leader in holding bad accountable and creating guardrails that allow Pennsylvanians to use new technology responsibly."

The Shapiro Administration's continued cross-agency work and collaboration with the Attorney General's office underscores the Governor's commitment to keeping Pennsylvanians safe, while evolving with the demands of technology and ultimately ensuring the Commonwealth remains a national leader on responsible AI adoption.

"While we all have our lanes of duty, as specified by statute, those lanes often overlap and intertwine, and my office will continue to embrace an all-hands-on-deck approach to defeating harmful tech," said Pennsylvania Attorney General Sunday. "Protecting children and their families from fast-evolving technology is not the duty of any one elected official - rather, it is a mission we all share and zealously pursue every day."

Throughout their conversation, local parents also shared firsthand experiences after five ninth-grade girls from Radnor High School were victimized by predatory AI - highlighting the need for responsible AI use education in the protection of young Pennsylvanians.

"Unfortunately, my daughter was a victim of this particular crime, and we saw institutions, including the police and the school, who did not know how to respond," said Audrey Greenberg, a Radnor High School parent. "Our kids spend 75 percent of their waking hours in school - that's where their life is - so expanding education to schools so that they have a protocol to follow when something like this happens would be so important."

Today's roundtable was held at the West Chester Community Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting underserved Pennsylvanians in the West Chester area with educational and recreational programs including a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) focused summer camp, summer basketball league, and their 2 Fish Community Cafe program that mentors and trains local youth in culinary arts and the hospitality industry.

"No matter what school or what district you're in, there are school counselors who are trained professionals, so if you're faced with a situation where you don't know what to do - start with them," said Dr. Koreem Bell, College & Career Access Counselor at Harriton High School and Executive Director of the West Chester Community Center. "And if they don't have the answer, they'll help you find the answers."

"We've grown up in a digital world and we hear about digital literacy, but the actual education doesn't always make it to us," said Hannah Dean, a student at East High School. "We need to learn more about recognizing both AI and general biases when we're on social media so that we can avoid just consuming media without questioning what we're seeing."

"While most parents are generally aware that their children are connected to social media, most of the young people I talk to, their parents have no idea how much time they spend engaging with AI chat bots," said Dr. Roger Harrison, Division Co-Chief for the Division of Community Care and Wellness in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "So, my big concern is for young people who aren't yet supposed to have the brain maturity or judgment to determine whether or not something they see online is good or not good, or true or not true."

Launching the AI Literacy Toolkit

During his 2026-27 budget address, Governor Shapiro committed to strengthening protections on the use of AI in Pennsylvania and investigating companion bots claiming to be licensed medical professionals.

The multi-agency AI Literacy Toolkit provides new resources for Pennsylvanians, including information to help parents talk to their kids about AI companion bots, strategies to help kids stay safe online, guidance for using AI in the classroom, warnings about potential financial and banking scams, and a link to the Department of State's new AI companion bot complaint form.

Since its February launch, the AI Literacy Toolkit has been accessed nearly 2,000 times.

The guidance has been reviewed and supported by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Department of State's AI Task Force and Reporting Process

Following the Governor's budget address, the Pennsylvania Department of State established a formal complaint and reporting process for AI-powered bots that may be engaging in unlicensed professional practice. Pennsylvanians can now submit concerns through a dedicated form, hotline, and email address.

The Department has also launched a 12-member AI Task Force to evaluate whether certain AI companion technologies are engaging in unlicensed practice under existing law and determine appropriate enforcement actions.

Since its launch last month, the Task Force has begun tracking and reviewing matters relating to AI, with approximately 10 cases currently under review by the Task Force.

Coordination with the Office of the Attorney General

The Shapiro Administration is also coordinating closely with the Office of the Attorney General to strengthen consumer protections related to AI companion bots. While the Department of State oversees professional licensure and unlicensed practice, the Attorney General has authority under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law to investigate consumer protection violations.

The collaboration follows a recent coalition effort led by the Attorney General urging major AI companies to implement stronger safeguards for users, particularly vulnerable populations.

Building on three years of progress under the leadership of Governor Shapiro, these actions strengthen Pennsylvania's position as a national leader on responsible AI adoption.

• The Governor signed Executive Order 2023-19 in September 2023, establishing clear principles for AI use in state government and creating a Generative AI Governing Board.
• The Commonwealth launched the first-in-the-nation pilot of ChatGPT Enterprise in January 2024 and has since expanded responsible AI training to thousands of state employees.
• Pennsylvania was ranked as one of the top three states for AI readiness by CODE for America in July 2025.
• Governor Shapiro announced a Cooperative Agreement for Artificial Intelligence Advising Services with the University of Pennsylvania to advance the responsible use of AI across government in October 2025.

Governor Shapiro's 2026-27 proposed budget calls on Pennsylvania's General Assembly to pass 4 commonsense reforms into law, further protecting Pennsylvanians from predatory AI:

• Require age verification and parental consent to utilize AI companion bots.
• Require tech companies to detect when children mention self harm or violence against others and immediately direct them to the appropriate authorities.
• Force tech companies to periodically remind users that there is not another human being on the other side of the screen.
• Prohibit AI companion bots from producing sexually explicit or violent content featuring kids.

"I thank Governor Shapiro for his leadership to keep our children safe from powerful, rapidly evolving Artificial Intelligence. It's incumbent on state legislators to protect the welfare of our young people," said Representative Chris Pielli, PA's 156th House District. "We should employ policy measures that take the onus off K-12 students to protect themselves from predatory use of A.I. chatbots and generative deepfakes. I'm proud to sponsor and support bills to protect juveniles - and all Pennsylvanians - from A.I. chatbots."

Watch the Governor's full budget address to a joint session of the House and Senate here and read the Governor's full remarks as prepared for delivery here.

Read the Governor's 2026-27 proposed budget in brief here.