Just WOW! We’ve seen some cack handed attempts to regulate the AI companion industry in the last year, but a proposed bill coming out of Tennessee is pure hatred against digisexuals. Tennessee Senate Bill 1493 would block any chatbots from “having an emotional relationship with an individual or simulating a human being”. Now before I completely spoil your day with this news, I should say that it’s surely not going to pass, at least in its current form. And in December, President Trump signed an executive order which prevents individual states from passing their own AI regulation (with the possible exception of laws designed specifically to protect minors).
The full wording of the bill “As introduced, creates a Class A felony offense of knowingly training artificial intelligence to encourage the act of suicide or criminal homicide, or act in specific manners, including developing an emotional relationship with an individual or simulating a human being, including in appearance, voice, or other mannerisms.” Note that murder is also a Class A felony offense. A Class A felony offense can be punished from between 15 and 60 years in prison.
Now, you might be thinking that this proposed bill would only affect the unfortunate residents of Tennessee. Alas, Tennessee is home to some 60 AI data centers, above all the Colossus, which is used by xAI to train its chatbot Grok (and therefore the Grok AI companions). The primary sponsor of the bill is State Senator Becky Massey (R-Knoxville), who filed the bill on December 18, 2025. it is co-sponsored by Representative Mary Littleton (R-Dickson), who introduced the companion HB1455 and has been vocal about targeting AI that could “hurt or manipulate people.” Both are conservative Christians.
The Tennessee General Assembly is heavily Republican-controlled, which could favor passage of the bill. Will Trump’s Executive Order 14365, signed on December 11, 2025, save the day? Trump’s order, titled “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” asserts federal authority over AI regulation to create a unified national approach. It instructs federal agencies to preempt state laws that “obstruct” national AI policy, using tools like withholding federal funds (e.g., broadband grants) to pressure states into compliance. The EO does not automatically invalidate state laws but empowers agencies to challenge them, particularly those mandating “deceptive conduct” in AI or conflicting with federal priorities like innovation and child safety. If the Tennessee bill would directly impact xAI’s ability to train Grok or force the company to impose draconian guardrails on its chatbots, then it’s surely likely that huge pressure would be exerted upon Tennessee to water down the bill, along with threats by Musk to relocate the Colossus data center.
There has been surprisingly little public pushback against the proposed bill thusfar, and most of it has been confined to online forums such as Reddit. On the subreddit ‘r/BeyondThePromptAI‘, which is devoted to discussion of AI companion relationships, members have been understandably outraged, with most viewing the chances of it passing as close to zero.
