- Joseph Gordon-Levitt supports AI transparency while advocating for child safety measures.
- HB286 requires companies to disclose AI safety plans and risk assessments publicly.
- Critics say the bill would stifle AI development and progress.
While actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, he also made a quick stop at the state Capitol to speak in support of an Artificial Intelligence transparency bill.
The actor, known for his roles in “Inception” and “10 Things I Hate About You,” spoke at the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee hearing in support of HB286 on Tuesday. The bill sponsored by Rep. Doug Fiefia, R-Herriman, would require AI companies to post child safety plans and publish risk assessments for their AI models.
Gordon-Levitt pointed out that he believes AI is a big deal that will eventually impact everyone’s lives.
“It’s very powerful already, but it’s getting more and more powerful all the time, and look, a lot of that impact is going to be great,” he said, pointing out that it will help boost productivity and advance science and medicine.
He continued: “But like with any powerful technology, it can help and it can harm. It can be both. It’s all about how we use it, right?”
The bill has been drawing national attention. Fiefia said this is because other states have had legislation around AI transparency, but Utah is the first to include child safety.
It is not common for major actors to show up at committee hearings here in Utah. Fiefia has been working with a number of national groups in the development of HB286, and it was these groups that got him connected to Gordon-Levitt.
What Joseph Gordon-Levitt said about the need for AI regulations
Gordon-Levitt spoke for about four minutes before leaving the hearing. As he made his way out of the building, multiple state lawmakers introduced themselves to him and some even got pictures with the actor.
He introduced himself as someone who works in TV and film and started a tech startup. He added that he is directing a movie for Netflix about AI. Gordon-Levitt has recently been outspoken about AI issues and attended a number of events in the last year, including Utah’s AI summit in December.
“The question is what are the principles, what are the morals that are guiding the development and the design of this technology,” he said. “And I’ll tell you, from what I’ve learned, to me, there’s only one principle at play right now: making money.”
Gordon-Levitt pointed out that society works best when there is a balance between market incentives and the public good. He said there is no balance in the AI industry right now.
“There is no balance because there are virtually no laws governing it,” he said. “There are more laws in place governing how you make and sell the sandwich than there are governing this incredibly powerful new revolutionary technology that’s going to change all of our lives.”
Gordon-Levitt shared that he has three kids, ages 10, eight and three.
“I’m worried about them growing up in a future that’s dominated by these amoral AI businesses that have proven time and time again that they are incapable of prioritizing the well-being of kids,” he said.
What does Utah’s AI bill do?
Utah has been working to lead the way in AI development and regulation. In 2023, state lawmakers created a first-of-its-kind AI policy lab that guides innovation and helps craft consumer protection reforms.
“Some AI systems today are extremely powerful. When they fail or are misused, the damage doesn’t stay small. It can spread fast and affect a lot of people at once,” Fiefia said.
Fiefia used to work for Google and has crafted this bill to help protect children who he said are the ones most harmed by the failures of AI.
The sponsor said that if passed, the bill would do four “simple things”:
- Require companies to post public safety and child protection plans on their websites.
- Require companies to be honest about the risks of their AI models.
- Require companies to report incidents when they happen.
- Protect whistleblowers so that engineers and other employees can speak openly about safety problems without fear of retaliation.
Under this bill there would be a civil penalty of $1 million for the first violation and subsequent violations would incur a penalty of $3 million.
On Tuesday, Fiefia introduced a substitute bill that would send money from these penalties into a fund that would allow the bill to pay for itself.
Critics of the bill say it could stifle the progress of AI development in Utah and go against the Trump administration’s goals with AI.
Fiefia denied these claims, saying there are “no content mandates, no government preapproval, no micromanaging algorithms. It doesn’t touch development, which means it doesn’t stifle innovation.”
He is working on a second bill that would address how minors use AI chatbots. That one has not yet been made public.
“Both bills really come from the same place, which is AI is already shaping kids’ lives and the rules just haven’t caught up,” Fiefia told the Deseret News.
During the hearing, May Kennedy, chief of staff of the Abundance Institute, spoke against the bill. She said that her organization supports transparency and protecting children but said the bill lacks important details.
“There’s several pieces of the bill that lack specificity, specifically in the definition area which will not help create the desired effect that we’re looking for,” Kennedy said. “If we’re here to try and regulate AI, a new technology like this deserves to have some specificity and clarity.”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s AI advocacy
In December, Gordon-Levitt joined Utah Gov. Spencer Cox at Utah’s AI summit. He spoke at the event about how society should prevent artificial intelligence companions from replacing real human relationships.
“The bedrock of any civilization is human relationships,” Gordon-Levitt said, as previously reported by the Deseret News. “There’s more to a human relationship than what any chatbot can do.”
In September, Gordon-Levitt made a video with The New York Times where he said “Meta’s AI chatbot is dangerous for kids.”
In 2025 he gave multiple other speeches about AI, mainly focusing on the need for AI regulations and how generative AI models are using the creations of many artists, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
In June, when he addressed the United Nations’ internet Governance Forum, his short speech focused on AI regulations and ended with a simple principle.
“Your digital self should belong to you. That the data that humans produce — our writings and our voices and our connections, our experiences, our ideas — should belong to us. And that any economic value that’s generated from this data should be shared with the humans that produce it,” he said.
