SB 1012 — Creates new provisions relating to artificial intelligence

8.

An owner or operator that uses an AI system to interact with a consumer, client, or patient shall provide clear and conspicuous notice that the person is or may be interacting with an AI system or a person who is concomitantly using an AI system during the course of the interaction.

Notice may be provided in writing or orally.

9.

(1) (a) A licensed professional rendering a regulated service shall exercise independent professional judgment and retain final authority over any determination, diagnosis, recommendation, or decision within the scope of the licensed professional's practice, including for the purpose of dispensing, prescribing, renewing any prescription of, administering, or otherwise distributing medications or controlled substances, regardless of whether an AI system was used to assist in its preparation.

The requirement to exercise independent professional judgment does not prohibit the use of an AI system in the course of performing a regulated service.

(b) Failure by a licensed professional to exercise independent professional judgment as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action by the relevant licensing authority in addition to any other remedy available under this section or under applicable law.

(c) A licensed professional who uses an AI system in the performance of a regulated service bears the responsibility of any mistakes resulting from the use of the AI system in the rendering of such service in the same manner in which the licensed professional would have been SS#2 SCS SB 1012 5 held liable in a scenario in which an AI system was not used or relied upon.

(d) A licensed professional providing a regulated service who unreasonably relies upon any content produced by an AI system in rendering such a regulated service and such service thereafter causes any harm, whether direct or indirect, to the person for whom the service was rendered, shall be liable for such harm in the same manner in which the licensed professional would have been held liable in a scenario in which an AI system was not used or relied upon.

An AI system shall not be held liable in any respect for any harm caused in such a circumstance.

Any attempt to shift fault, in whole or in part, onto the AI system shall be of no effect.

(e) A developer, manufacturer, owner, or operator shall not advertise or represent to the public that an AI system is or is capable of acting as a licensed professional or is capable of providing any regulated service.

(f) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit or restrict the use of artificial intelligence as a tool in professional practice, provided such use is consistent with this subsection and with applicable standards of professional care.

(2) The provisions of this subsection shall only apply to a licensed professional providing a regulated service.

(3) For purposes of this subsection, the following terms mean:

(a) "Independent professional judgment", the practice of applying the specialized knowledge, skill, education, training, and experience of the licensed professional to the facts, data, reports, history, and other relevant information to make informed decisions and recommendations;

SS#2 SCS SB 1012 6 (b) "Licensing authority", a board, agency, or other authority in this state that has the power under applicable law to issue a license, certificate, registration, or other legal authorization to render a regulated service and otherwise regulate such services within its scope of authority;

(c) "Licensed professional", any person required to be licensed, certified, or registered by a licensing authority to work in a specific occupation, profession, or activity in the state or political subdivision of this state.

"Licensed professional" does not include any attorney;

(d) "Regulated service", any service practiced by one of the following professionals:

a.

An accountant;

b.

An architect or engineer;

c.

A podiatrist;

d.

A chiropractor;

e.

A dentist;

f.

An optometrist;

g.

A physician, surgeon, doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy;

h.

A psychologist;

i.

A veterinarian;

j.

A registered nurse;

k.

Any natural person licensed as a real estate salesperson;

l.

A physical therapist;

m.

A teacher of any educational institution in this state, whether public, private, charter, elementary, secondary, or higher education;

n.

Any individual operating a vehicle that requires a commercial drivers license;

SS#2 SCS SB 1012 7 o.

A law enforcement officer;

p.

A first responder, as that term is defined in section 190.1010;

q.

An appraiser;

r.

A counselor;

s.

A pharmacist;

t.

A professional counselor.

10.

(1) Any contractual term purporting to assign responsibility for any action exclusively to an AI system is void as against public policy.

(2) An end user shall not be liable under this section as an owner or operator.

An end user shall be liable for any harm done in connection with the use of an AI system in the same manner in which the end user would have been held liable in a scenario in which an AI system was not used.

11.

The act of labeling an AI system in a way that indicates that it is aligned, ethically trained, or value locked, even if the label does not use one of those terms, shall not excuse or diminish the owner's or developer's liability for harms.

12.

Liability protections granted under corporate law shall not be used as a mechanism to evade responsibility for direct harm caused by AI systems, particularly in cases of reckless, negligent, or deceptive conduct.

13.

Except as specifically provided in subsection 9 of this section, the provisions of this section shall apply to all AI systems, including AI systems deployed or operated within this state by state agencies, political subdivisions, or contractors acting on behalf of a public entity, to the extent not otherwise limited by sovereign immunity on or after August 28, 2026.

SS#2 SCS SB 1012 8 14.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to create or expand civil liability as established in any other provision of law or available under common law.

15.

An AI system is a product for the purposes of product liability and consumer protection actions under the laws of this state, provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to create or expand civil liability as established in any other provision of law or available under common law.

16.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to extend to any AI system, or to the outputs of any AI system, the constitutional rights, privileges, or immunities of any person that designs, develops, manufactures, owns, or operates such system.

The classification of an AI system as a non-person under this section does not create any presumption that the outputs of such system constitute the protected speech, expression, or other constitutionally protected activity of any person.

17.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, diminish, or revoke the legal status of any partnership, association, corporation, body politic, or other legal entity recognized under the laws of this state.

18.

The provisions of this section shall only apply to a person, operator, or owner who:

(1) Promotes, advertises, or conducts business in this state;

(2) Produces a product or service used by residents of this state;

or (3) Develops or deploys an artificial intelligence system in this state.

19.

To the extent that this section conflicts with any provision of federal law, the relevant provision of federal SS#2 SCS SB 1012 9 law shall prevail over the conflicting provision of this section.

20.

No settlement agreement, consent decree, or other resolution of any action filed or maintained pursuant to the provisions of this section shall include any term or condition that prohibits or restricts a party from disclosing facts, allegations, evidence, or settlement terms relating to such action.

21.

Any nondisclosure, confidentiality, or similar provision included in violation of this section shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.

22.

A court of competent jurisdiction shall not approve, enforce, or incorporate into any judgment any settlement containing a provision prohibited by this section.

23.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit a court from issuing protective orders necessary to safeguard personal identifying information, trade secrets, or other confidential information unrelated to the facts of the underlying claim.

24.

Each subsection of this section, and each portion of each subsection, is severable.

If any provision of this section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.

1.2058.

1.

For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:

(1) "Artificial intelligence", a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real SS#2 SCS SB 1012 10 or virtual environments.

Artificial intelligence systems use machine and human-based inputs to:

(a) Perceive real and virtual environments;

(b) Abstract such perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner;

and (c) Use model inference to formulate options for information or action;

(2) (a) "Companion chatbot", an artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs and is capable of meeting a user's social needs, including by exhibiting anthropomorphic features and being able to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions;

(b) "Companion chatbot", does not include any of the following:

a.

A chatbot that is used only for customer service, a business' operational purposes, productivity and analysis related to source information, internal research, or technical assistance;

b.

A chatbot that is a feature of a video game and is limited to replies related to the video game that cannot discuss topics related to mental health, self-harm, sexually explicit conduct, or maintain a dialogue on other topics unrelated to the video game;

or c.

A stand-alone consumer electronic device that functions as a speaker and voice command interface, acts as a voice-activated virtual assistant, and does not sustain a relationship across multiple interactions or generate outputs that are likely to elicit emotional responses in the user;

(3) "Companion chatbot platform", a platform that allows a user to engage with companion chatbots;

SS#2 SCS SB 1012 11 (4) "Minor", any person seventeen years of age or younger;

(5) "Operator", a person who makes a companion chatbot platform available to a user in the state;

(6) "Sexually explicit conduct", actual or simulated:

(a) Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;

(b) Bestiality;

(c) Masturbation;

(d) Sadistic or masochistic abuse;

or (e) Lascivious exhibition of the anus, genitals, or pubic area of any person;

(7) "Video game", a game played on an electronic amusement device that utilizes a computer, microprocessor, or similar electronic circuitry and its own monitor, or is designed to be used with a television set or a computer monitor, that interacts with the user of the device.

2.

(1) An operator shall issue a clear and conspicuous notification indicating that the companion chatbot is artificially generated and not human.

(2) (a) An operator shall prevent a companion chatbot on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the production of suicidal ideation, suicide, self-harm, or harm to others content to the user, including, but not limited to, by providing a notification to the user that refers the user to crisis service providers, including a suicide hotline or crisis text line, if the user expresses suicidal ideation, suicide, self-harm, or harm to others.

SS#2 SCS SB 1012 12 (b) The operator shall publish details on the protocol required by this subdivision on the operator's internet website.

(3) An operator shall:

(a) Disclose to the user that the user is interacting with artificial intelligence;

(b) Provide by default a clear and conspicuous notification to the user at least every two hours for continuing companion chatbot interactions that reminds the user to take a break and that the companion chatbot is artificially generated and not human;

(c) With respect to any user who is a minor, institute reasonable measures to prevent its companion chatbot from producing visual material of sexually explicit conduct or directly stating that the minor should engage in sexually explicit conduct.

3.

(1) Beginning July 1, 2027, an operator shall annually report to the department of mental health all of the following:

(a) The number of times the operator has issued a crisis service provider referral notification pursuant to subsection 2 of this section in the preceding calendar year;

(b) Protocols put in place to detect, remove, and respond to instances of suicidal ideation by users;

(c) Protocols put in place to prohibit a companion chatbot response about suicidal ideation or actions with the user;

and (d) Protocols put in place to detect, remove, and respond to instances of harm to self and others.

(2) The report required by this section shall include only the information listed in subdivision (1) of this SS#2 SCS SB 1012 13 subsection and shall not include any identifiers or personal information about users.

(3) The department of mental health shall post data from a report required by this subsection on its internet website.

The director of the department of mental health shall prepare an annual report that compiles and analyzes all information reported to the department pursuant to this subsection.

Such report shall be delivered to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate not later than January thirty-first of the calendar year following the receipt of the data by the department of mental health.

(4) An operator shall use evidence-based methods for measuring suicidal ideation.

4.

An operator shall disclose to a user of its companion chatbot platform, on the application, the browser, or any other format that a user can use to access the companion chatbot platform, that companion chatbots may not be suitable for minors.

5.

A person who suffers injury in fact as a result of a violation of this section may bring a civil action to recover all of the following relief:

(1) Injunctive relief;

(2) Damages in an amount equal to the greater of actual damages or one thousand dollars per violation;

and (3) Reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

6.

The duties, remedies, and obligations imposed by this section are cumulative to the duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under other law and shall not be construed to relieve an operator from any duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under any other law.

SS#2 SCS SB 1012 14 130.165.

1.

For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:

(1) "Generative artificial intelligence" or "generative AI", a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.

Artificial intelligence systems use machine and human-based inputs to:

(a) Perceive real and virtual environments;

(b) Abstract such perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner;

and (c) Use model inference to formulate options for information or action;

(2) "Metadata", structural or descriptive information about data such as content, format, source, rights, accuracy, provenance, periodicity, granularity, publisher or responsible party, contact information, method of collection, and other relevant descriptions of the data.

2.

(1) A political advertisement, electioneering communication, or other miscellaneous advertisement of a political nature shall, in addition to any other disclaimer required by this chapter, contain the disclaimer described in subdivision (2) of this subsection if it contains images, video, audio, graphics, or other digital content created, in whole or in part, with the use of generative artificial intelligence and:

(a) Appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not actually occur;

(b) Manipulates the voice or actions of a candidate to show the candidate, audibly or visually, doing or saying something that the candidate did not do or say;

or SS#2 SCS SB 1012 15 (c) Was created with intent to injure a candidate or to deceive voters regarding an election or ballot issue.

(2) The disclaimer required by subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be in substantially the following form:

Created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).

This (image/audio/video/multimedia) has been edited and depicts speech or conduct that falsely appears to be authentic or truthful.

(3) The disclaimer required by subdivision (1) of this subsection shall meet the following specifications:

(a) For a printed communication, the disclaimer shall be stated in bold font with a font size of at least twelve points;

(b) For a television or video communication, the disclaimer shall be clearly readable throughout the communication and occupy at least four percent of the vertical picture height;

(c) For an internet public communication that includes text or graphic components, the disclaimer shall be viewable without the user taking any action and be large enough to be clearly readable;

(d) For any audio component of a communication, the disclaimer shall be at least three seconds in length and spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner at either the beginning or the end of the audio component of the communication;

(e) For a graphic communication, the disclaimer shall be large enough to be clearly readable but no less than four percent of the vertical height of the communication.

3.

The metadata of the communication shall include the disclosure statement, the identity of the tool used to SS#2 SCS SB 1012 16 create the communication, and the date and time the communication was created.

4.

The disclosure statement, including the disclosure statement in any metadata, shall, to the extent technically feasible, be permanent or unable to be easily removed by a subsequent user.

5.

In addition to any civil penalties provided by this chapter, a person identified pursuant to a disclaimer required by law as paying for, sponsoring, or approving a political advertisement, an electioneering communication, or other miscellaneous advertisement of a political nature that is required to contain the disclaimer prescribed in this section and who fails to include the required disclaimer is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

Section B.

In the event that any section, provision, clause, phrase, or word of this act or the application thereof is declared invalid under the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of Missouri, it is the intent of the general assembly that the remaining sections of this act remain in force and effect as far as they are capable of being carried into execution as intended by the general assembly.

The general assembly hereby declares that it would have passed each section, provision, clause, phrase, or word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, provisions, clauses, phrases, or words of this act or the application of this act would be declared unenforceable, unconstitutional, or invalid.