Why is actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt testifying to protect kids from AI?
Actor and director Joseph Gordon-Levitt, left, appeared with Utah Rep. Doug Fiefia in the Utah legislature late last month to advocate for a bill on AI safety. (Photo via Rep. Fiefia.)
Feb. 12, 2026 — Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is known for a number of roles: Third Rock From the Sun, Inception, and 500 Days of Summer are among his better-known credits. He’s also the founder of a media startup, HitRecord. In the past few months he’s taken on another role: Advocate for appropriate guardrails around artificial intelligence.
While conducting research for an upcoming Netflix project on AI, Gordon-Levitt spoke with a number of people inside the tech world, as well as academic researchers and policy experts. What he learned alarmed him enough to speak out.
Late last month Gordon-Levitt appeared before a House committee in the Utah legislature to testify in favor of HB 286, the proposed Utah Artificial Intelligence Transparency Act. The bill would require the developers of the largest AI models, known as frontier models, to incorporate protections for children and safeguards against potential public safety risks.
Video of his testimony is available below, followed by a transcript of his remarks.
artificial intelligence: ‘It’s all about how we use it’
The following is a transcript of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s remarks to the Utah legislature on Jan. 27, 2026.
My name is Joe. I work in film and TV. I also founded and ran a media tech startup, and this year I'll be directing a movie for Netflix that I co-wrote about AI.
In doing the research for writing this movie, I've had a chance to speak to a lot of the people that are at the forefront of this technology. I've talked to people that are inside the biggest AI companies, I've talked to people in government, in academia, in nonprofits, and I've learned a lot.
I agree with Silicon Valley that this technology is a really big deal. I believe that it could eventually impact all of our 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 gonna be great. I think that AI has potential to boost productivity and help our economy and advance science and medicine.
As with any powerful technology, it can help and it can harm. It's all about how we use it, right?
So the question is: What are the principles, what are the morals that are guiding the development and the design of this technology?
Laws needed to counterbalance the profit motive
From what I've learned, to me, there's only one principle at play right now. It's making money. That's it.
Look, I’ve run a business. When you run a business you have to make money. If you don't make money, then you fail. If you decide to take the high road, you're probably gonna get beat by a competitor who's willing to take the low road. And this is why we need laws.
You all know this better than I do. I don't imagine you'd be here doing everything that you do for this state legislature if you didn't appreciate the fact that our free society works best when we strike a balance between market incentives and the public good.
But that balance right now in the AI industry, it's not happening.
There is no balance because there are virtually no laws governing AI. This is a, a kind of a funny thing, but it's true. There are more laws in place governing how you make and sell a sandwich than there are governing this incredibly powerful, new revolutionary technology that's gonna change all of our lives.
American kids used as ai’s testing ground
When there is harm, who's suffering it the worst and the most tragically? You heard the story about Adam Raine. The answer is our kids.
I'm a dad. That’s why I'm here today. Ihave two boys and a girl. They're ten and eight and three, and I am worried for them.
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.
Whenever there's a tragedy like this, they pay lip service to the families. But I'm sorry, it is clear as day that is spin, it's PR, it's marketing. Because these companies are driven by only that one guiding principle: making money. That's it.
‘this is why the ai industry needs laws’
So this is why the AI industry needs laws. The federal government hasn't done anything about this yet, but thank goodness, the states are stepping up. I was here in Utah just a couple of months ago for the AI summit that Governor Cox put on, along with his excellent team of very smart people that are working on this. Utah has been a leader in the past, protecting kids against these predatory tech companies.
Now I think it's time for Utah to be that leader again. I am asking you as, as a tech enthusiast and as a businessman, as a fellow American and as a dad, please do the right thing and pass this bill.
More about kids and aI
