Balancing AI Safety with Digital Skill Growth: Jake Morabito on KAHI Morning News
We want to protect kids, yes, but we also need to be careful not to shut off access to beneficial tools.
In a recent interview, Jake Morabito, ALEC Communications and Technology Senior Task Force Director, spoke with host Chris Quandt on Kahi Morning News about the implications of AI regulation and California Senate Bill 243.
Morabito noted that more than 1,000 bills have been introduced across state legislatures aiming to regulate AI in some form — with concerns ranging from deepfakes and online impersonation to non-consensual image sharing and election interference. One bill drawing national attention is California Senate Bill 243.
“California’s bill is particularly strict,” Morabito explained. “It would essentially require AI platforms to have a duty of care that the chatbots are not going to cause them harm.”
The bill was partly inspired by tragic reports, including the case of a child who reportedly died by suicide after interacting with a character AI platform. While Morabito acknowledged the urgency of such concerns, he questioned whether California’s approach might go too far.
“It could be overly restrictive and not allow kids to learn the digital skills to help them excel in their careers,” he said. “We want to protect kids, yes, but we also need to be careful not to shut off access to beneficial tools.”
Age verification requirements — such as asking platforms to collect government-issued IDs — raise additional concerns, particularly around data privacy and First Amendment rights.
“If you’re going to age-verify kids, you also have to age-verify adults,” Morabito said. “Then you get into a lot of First Amendment speech concerns.”
Rather than overregulation, Morabito advocated for empowering parents and educators.
“There’s actually a lot that you can do with the current parental controls and kids’ tools available on all the different platforms,” he said, citing built-in protections on phones, tablets, gaming consoles, and social media apps like Instagram.
Morabito also highlighted ALEC model policy encouraging schools to set clear policies on cell phone use. “That’s a good place to start — in the public school system, maybe restricting cell phone use during the school day,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Morabito remains optimistic.
“AI cleverly and wisely used can help with supplemental tutoring or generating math problems,” he said. “There are good, ethical uses of that — and that’s something educators can teach in the classroom.”
For those looking to stay informed, Morabito encouraged the public to visit ALEC.org.
“That’s a great place to start — to track what’s moving through the legislature and understand the broader landscape,” he said.