Patronis and Florida AG Hosting Free Phone Town Hall Tonight on AI Chatbot Dangers

Pensacola, FL (NewsRadio 92.3) -- Congressman Jimmy Patronis and Florida Attorney General James Uthmire are hosting a free telephone town hall tonight at 6 p.m. on the growing dangers of artificial intelligence chatbots — and Patronis says the issue deserves urgent public attention.

Patronis says he is particularly concerned about people turning to AI chatbots for mental health guidance. Unlike a trained mental health professional who would challenge a patient's thinking and push back on inaccurate beliefs chatbots tend to do the opposite — validating users and telling them what they want to hear. He says for people who are already struggling with delusional thinking that dynamic can make things significantly worse.

"These things are becoming — they're befriending the user in a way that's very concerning," Patronis said. "And I'm afraid these things are not being monitored enough of what type of influence they are having on the user."

The town hall is free and easy to join. Dial 833-305-1733 at 6 p.m. tonight or simply answer your phone — Patronis says his office proactively calls between 6,000 and 8,000 phones for each town hall so you may receive a call automatically if you are in the district.