The Emerging AI Policy Consensus
May 20, 2026
In the wake of several high-profile lawsuits related to teen suicides allegedly encouraged by AI chatbots, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced a bill earlier this month to protect kids from AI-related harms. The GUARD Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Josh Hawley (R.-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D.-Conn.), seeks to safeguard minors by age-gating AI companions designed to simulate human relationships. In addition to advancing young people’s online safety, the bill embodies the best of American federalism, drawing from the strengths of enacted state policies while correcting their weaknesses.
The move by the Senate Judiciary committee reflects a growing popular demand to govern AI in a way that advances human flourishing. Contrary to claims of a growing “patchwork” of hundreds of disparate state AI policies, a new report by the Institute for Family Studies found that AI laws (including on children’s safety) enacted by states between 2023 and 2025 broadly reflect a shared pro-human policy consensus. Hawley and Blumenthal’s bill aligns with this emerging consensus. Although it is novel as a piece of federal legislation, it advances protections enacted by some states while also offering stronger safeguards.
