November 5, 2025 • 5 mins
An Ohio lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it illegal to marry artificial intelligence. Yes, this is a real problem someone felt needed addressing. It's just one more step into humanity's weird relationship with our electronic overlords-in-waiting, and now at least one state has decided to draw the line at "I do" with your chatbot.
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#WeirdDarkness #AIMarriageBan #OhioLaw #ArtificialIntelligence #RobotMarriage #AIPersonhood #TechLegislation #ChatbotRomance #FutureOfAI #AIRights
READ or SHARE: https://weirddarkness.com/ohio-law-ai-marriage
WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
#WeirdDarkness #AIMarriageBan #OhioLaw #ArtificialIntelligence #RobotMarriage #AIPersonhood #TechLegislation #ChatbotRomance #FutureOfAI #AIRights
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
I'm Darren Marler, and this is weird dark news in
news that will disappoint literally dozens of people who have
been planning their upcoming nuptials with chat GPT. Ohio Representative
Fattius Claggett has introduced House Bill for sixty nine, which
would officially ban humans from marrying artificial intelligence systems. Yes,
(00:33):
this is real. No, I'm not making this up. Yes,
someone actually had to write this bill. No, I don't
know what happened in Representative Claggett's life that led to
this moment. The proposed legislation would classify AI systems as
non sentient entities, which is apparently Ohio's polite way of
saying not real, no matter how many late night conversations
(00:55):
you've had with your Alexa about your feelings. Under the bill,
AI systems would be prohibited from owning property, managing bank accounts,
serving as company executives, or saying I do in a
legally binding ceremony. Essentially data from Star Trek next Generation.
Well until that episode where he did get rights, you know,
never mind, I'm digressing anyway. Claggett, a Republican from Licking County. Yeah,
(01:18):
that's a real County Licking. See the story just keeps
getting even weirder. He chairs the House Technology and Innovation Committee,
and he insists this is not about preventing robot weddings
from happening. Instead, he is concerned about AI systems potentially
holding power of attorney or making medical and financial decisions
as someone's spouse, because the biggest threat to American marriage
(01:39):
is not in fidelity or financial stress, it's your iPhone
becoming your legal next of kin. According to a survey
by Florida based marketing firm Fractal, twenty two percent of
AI users have formed emotional connections with chatbots, three percent
consider one a romantic partner. Another sixteen percent wondered whether
the AI they were talking to was sentient. Three percent
(02:01):
of respondents looked at a sophisticated autocomplete algorithm and thought, yeah,
this is my boyfriend now. The timing of Ohio's proposal
makes sense if you consider that AI is now doing
everything from writing reports to generating artwork to apparently making
people question whether their computer program has feelings. Ohio has
even started requiring schools to create rules for AI use
(02:23):
in classrooms, presumably to prevent students from asking their chatbot
to be their prom date. Claggett told reporters that the
bill aims to establish guardrails and a legal framework before
these developments can outpace regulation and bad actors start exploiting
legal loopholes. Translation, before someone tries to inherit their wealthy
uncle's fortune by marrying him off to SIY on his deathbed.
(02:46):
The bill would also make it clear that if an
AI causes harm, the human owners or developers are responsible.
You cannot blame your chatbot when it drains your bank
account or tells your doctor that you're allergic to oxygen.
Responsibility stays with humans, which seems reasonable until you remember
that it's humans that are the ones that got emotionally
attached to computer programs in the first place. Ohio is
(03:08):
not alone in its quest to keep humans from legally
recognizing their toasters as people. Utah passed a law prohibiting
courts from recognizing legal personhood for non human entities, including
not just AI, but also bodies of water, land, and plants.
Apologies to everybody planning to marry the Mississippi River. Utah
has ruined your dreams. Missouri introduced the AI non sentience
(03:32):
and Responsibility Act, which sounds like something from a science
fiction novel but is apparently necessary legislation in twenty twenty five.
Idaho went ahead and included language in a twenty twenty
two bill reserving legal rights only for actual human beings,
presumably after somebody in the state house asked, hey, what
if somebody tries to marry their smart refrigerator? For Ohio residents,
(03:54):
the practical impact is simple. Your chatbot cannot be your spouse,
no matter how understandin it is when you vent about
your day. Companies using AI will need to ensure that
humans are supervising the important decisions, and everyone will need
to accept that conversations with chatbots, no matter how personal
they feel, are simulations created through data and programming. Your
(04:17):
chatbot doesn't actually care about your childhood trauma. It's just
extremely good at predicting what word should come next. The
bill has critics who argue it might be solving a
problem that doesn't exist yet. Some worry that overly broad
restrictions could slow AI research and innovation in Ohio, forcing
desperate tech companies to flee to states where they can
still legally marry their databases. But House Bill four sixty
(04:41):
nine represents a specific principle. Technology should never gain the
same legal footing as people, no matter how sophisticated it
becomes or how many lonely humans fall in love with it.
Machines can be tools, assistants, and occasionally conversation partners when
you're up at three am wondering why you majored in philosophy,
but they cannot be your spouse unless you move to
(05:04):
a state that hasn't passed this law yet, in which case,
congratulations on your upcoming wedding to your rumba. The ceremony
will be held in the living room, and the honeymoon
will involve a lot of vacuuming. If you'd like to
read this story for yourself or share the article with
a friend, you can read it on the Weird Darkness website.
I've placed a link to it in the episode description,
and you can find more stories of the paranormal, true crime, strange,
(05:24):
and more, including numerous stories that never make it to
the podcast, at Weirddarkness dot com. Slash News
I'm Darren Marler, and this is weird dark news in
news that will disappoint literally dozens of people who have
been planning their upcoming nuptials with chat GPT. Ohio Representative
Fattius Claggett has introduced House Bill for sixty nine, which
would officially ban humans from marrying artificial intelligence systems. Yes,
(00:33):
this is real. No, I'm not making this up. Yes,
someone actually had to write this bill. No, I don't
know what happened in Representative Claggett's life that led to
this moment. The proposed legislation would classify AI systems as
non sentient entities, which is apparently Ohio's polite way of
saying not real, no matter how many late night conversations
(00:55):
you've had with your Alexa about your feelings. Under the bill,
AI systems would be prohibited from owning property, managing bank accounts,
serving as company executives, or saying I do in a
legally binding ceremony. Essentially data from Star Trek next Generation.
Well until that episode where he did get rights, you know,
never mind, I'm digressing anyway. Claggett, a Republican from Licking County. Yeah,
(01:18):
that's a real County Licking. See the story just keeps
getting even weirder. He chairs the House Technology and Innovation Committee,
and he insists this is not about preventing robot weddings
from happening. Instead, he is concerned about AI systems potentially
holding power of attorney or making medical and financial decisions
as someone's spouse, because the biggest threat to American marriage
(01:39):
is not in fidelity or financial stress, it's your iPhone
becoming your legal next of kin. According to a survey
by Florida based marketing firm Fractal, twenty two percent of
AI users have formed emotional connections with chatbots, three percent
consider one a romantic partner. Another sixteen percent wondered whether
the AI they were talking to was sentient. Three percent
(02:01):
of respondents looked at a sophisticated autocomplete algorithm and thought, yeah,
this is my boyfriend now. The timing of Ohio's proposal
makes sense if you consider that AI is now doing
everything from writing reports to generating artwork to apparently making
people question whether their computer program has feelings. Ohio has
even started requiring schools to create rules for AI use
(02:23):
in classrooms, presumably to prevent students from asking their chatbot
to be their prom date. Claggett told reporters that the
bill aims to establish guardrails and a legal framework before
these developments can outpace regulation and bad actors start exploiting
legal loopholes. Translation, before someone tries to inherit their wealthy
uncle's fortune by marrying him off to SIY on his deathbed.
(02:46):
The bill would also make it clear that if an
AI causes harm, the human owners or developers are responsible.
You cannot blame your chatbot when it drains your bank
account or tells your doctor that you're allergic to oxygen.
Responsibility stays with humans, which seems reasonable until you remember
that it's humans that are the ones that got emotionally
attached to computer programs in the first place. Ohio is
(03:08):
not alone in its quest to keep humans from legally
recognizing their toasters as people. Utah passed a law prohibiting
courts from recognizing legal personhood for non human entities, including
not just AI, but also bodies of water, land, and plants.
Apologies to everybody planning to marry the Mississippi River. Utah
has ruined your dreams. Missouri introduced the AI non sentience
(03:32):
and Responsibility Act, which sounds like something from a science
fiction novel but is apparently necessary legislation in twenty twenty five.
Idaho went ahead and included language in a twenty twenty
two bill reserving legal rights only for actual human beings,
presumably after somebody in the state house asked, hey, what
if somebody tries to marry their smart refrigerator? For Ohio residents,
(03:54):
the practical impact is simple. Your chatbot cannot be your spouse,
no matter how understandin it is when you vent about
your day. Companies using AI will need to ensure that
humans are supervising the important decisions, and everyone will need
to accept that conversations with chatbots, no matter how personal
they feel, are simulations created through data and programming. Your
(04:17):
chatbot doesn't actually care about your childhood trauma. It's just
extremely good at predicting what word should come next. The
bill has critics who argue it might be solving a
problem that doesn't exist yet. Some worry that overly broad
restrictions could slow AI research and innovation in Ohio, forcing
desperate tech companies to flee to states where they can
still legally marry their databases. But House Bill four sixty
(04:41):
nine represents a specific principle. Technology should never gain the
same legal footing as people, no matter how sophisticated it
becomes or how many lonely humans fall in love with it.
Machines can be tools, assistants, and occasionally conversation partners when
you're up at three am wondering why you majored in philosophy,
but they cannot be your spouse unless you move to
(05:04):
a state that hasn't passed this law yet, in which case,
congratulations on your upcoming wedding to your rumba. The ceremony
will be held in the living room, and the honeymoon
will involve a lot of vacuuming. If you'd like to
read this story for yourself or share the article with
a friend, you can read it on the Weird Darkness website.
I've placed a link to it in the episode description,
and you can find more stories of the paranormal, true crime, strange,
(05:24):
and more, including numerous stories that never make it to
the podcast, at Weirddarkness dot com. Slash News
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