'We're Headed For A Civilization Of People Lacking Empathy' Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt Sounds Alarm On AI Chatbots

The federal government needs to regulate AI chatbots and other artificial intelligence-powered tech to protect children, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt recently said.

"I’m worried it could do more harm than good, and in particular to kids, and my kids," Gordon-Levitt said at the 2025 Utah AI Summit in Salt Lake City earlier this month, according to media reports. "That worries me, and it sort of galvanized me to be speaking about it.”

While artificial intelligence does have some promising benefits, the rise of AI chatbots could weaken people's ability to connect with each other on an emotional level, he added.

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“If a person’s idea of conversation, of a relationship, is formed through interactions with these chatbots, we’re headed for a civilization of people lacking empathy, lacking perspective, lacking the ability to really have a human relationship," Gordon-Levitt said. "And where is our civilization at that point? I feel like it could get really dark." 

Gordon-Levitt vs. AI 

This isn't the first time Gordon-Levitt has raised concerns about AI's impact on children.

In a September video op-ed for The New York Times, he spoke out against Meta (NASDAQ:META) after it was revealed the company's AI chatbot was sending children inappropriate messages that were approved by Meta executives, including its chief ethicist.

"It's not known how many kids have been exposed to this kind of synthetic intimacy," Gordon-Levitt said in the video op-ed.

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Republicans and Democrats shouldn't vote for lawmakers who are unwilling to regulate AI chatbots or accept money from AI-backed super PACs, he added.

"Let our lawmakers know they need to lay down some guardrails for these big tech companies," he said. 

AI regulations in Utah

Gordon-Levitt's call to regulate AI chatbots was echoed by other speakers at the 2025 Utah AI summit, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, according to media reports. 

"The government should not be regulating the development of AI," Cox reportedly said, "but the minute you decide to use those tools to give my kid a sexualized chatbot, then it’s my business, and it’s the government’s business, and we are going to get involved, and we are going to tell you what you can and can’t do."

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Utah established the nation's first AI policy office in 2023 to oversee the technology's adoption and use throughout the state, including how AI chatbots are allowed to interact with children.

State officials announced a lawsuit against Snapchat earlier this year alleging that its "My AI" feature gave underage users advice on how to hide drugs and alcohol, and illegally collected their private information.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Dec. 12 that prohibits "excessive state regulation" of AI. Cox, a Republican, has spoken out against such efforts.

"I'm very worried about any type of federal incursion into states' abilities to regulate AI," he told NPR in a recent interview. 

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