The news: Representative Travis Nelson, BSN, RN (D., Or.) recently introduced a bill that would outlaw AI nurses throughout the state. The bill specifically prohibits a nonhuman entity from using the title “nurse” or other similar titles.

Zooming out: AI hasn’t been deployed to perform clinical nursing duties in the US yet, but some companies have developed AI tools that they claim could outperform nurses. One such company, Hippocratic AI, said its genAI bots are more effective than human nurses and are available for a fraction of the cost.

The buzz around these tools even led HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to claim that the Cleveland Clinic had developed an AI nurse with diagnostic capabilities on par with any doctor during a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing. The Cleveland Clinic subsequently refuted Kennedy’s claim.