Pennsylvania state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, a Montgomery County Republican, has been a selfless protector for most of her professional career. Ever since she was in college, Pennycuick has been a watchful guardian, a protector of the defenseless, and the modern-day equivalent of a knight-errant.
One of her most significant contributions as a senator is her work protecting children from the potential malevolence of artificial intelligence, offering safeguards without restricting innovation. A humble defender and noble warrior on the battlefield and in government, she deserves recognition for her work in 2026. With looming artificial intelligence threats and vulnerabilities, Pennycuick’s work is needed now more than ever.
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She began her career in public service by enlisting in the U.S. Army as a combat medic. She later transitioned to the Army Reserve while studying at the University of Missouri. Upon graduating in 1987, she was commissioned as an aviation officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. She later served as an operations officer during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as part of a distinguished 26-year military career.
After decades of success in the private sector, Pennycuick was called to return to the battlefield once more, but this time in the halls of Pennsylvania’s state government.
She was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2020 and then to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 2022. In recent months, she has sought to protect the innocent from the threats posed by the rise of AI, especially children and victims of violent crimes. As chair of the Pennsylvania Senate’s Communications and Technology Committee, Pennycuick has been a pioneer in protecting and defending others’ rights.
As a state senator, she has fought for sound public safety policies and protections for children from potential threats associated with artificial intelligence. She has also paved the way for the passage of Kayleigh’s Law in Pennsylvania, legislation strengthening protections for victims of violent crimes by providing lifetime no-contact protections against their attackers. Her efforts to pass Kayleigh’s Law complement her work to protect children from bad actors exploiting AI for nefarious purposes.
“What really brought it home to me is talking to the victims of the AI-generated child sexual assault material in Bucks County and Radnor High School, and the Lancaster Country Day School,” Pennycuick said about incidents in the Philadelphia suburbs.
“When you talk to those victims, the trauma that they relive every time they have to protect themselves and get an order of no contact. And these victims repeatedly told me that they had no-contact orders, but the schools wouldn’t enforce them,” she added. “They would not separate the kids. They’d have to eat lunch in the same lunchroom. The girls were revictimized over and over again.”
Regarding artificial intelligence protections, Pennycuick authored the SAFECHAT Act, which requires “commonsense safeguards for children interacting with artificial intelligence chatbots.” The Safeguarding Adolescents from Exploitative Chatbots and Harmful AI Technology Act seeks to protect children from the dangers of AI. Its safeguards would restrict the generation of AI content that encourages suicidal ideation, other forms of self-harm, or violence against others. The legislation also “directs users to appropriate self-harm crisis resources whenever high-risk language is detected.”
“As these tools become more common in classrooms, on smartphones and across social platforms, our laws must keep pace to prevent avoidable tragedies,” Pennycuick said. “Recent heartbreaking stories have come to light of vulnerable individuals, including minors, who have used AI chatbots to cope with trauma, mental health, depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, some of the responses they received have contributed to reported incidents of self-harm or even suicide.”
Pennycuick’s efforts to protect children from AI include sponsoring a bill to ban AI-powered “nudification” apps in Pennsylvania and championing another bill giving law enforcement the authority “to prosecute individuals who utilize AI to generate unconsented deepfake sexual images of minors.”
Her tireless efforts are unquestionably impressive and have drawn attention to her noble pursuit of protecting children. As a guardian and protector in the world of politics, Pennycuick has also demonstrated a keen ability to be more of a problem solver than a politician. Her dedication to helping others, combined with her experience and skills as a natural-born leader, has delivered the results Americans desire from their elected officials. She prioritizes resolving complex issues to benefit her constituents, a refreshing departure from the stereotypes normally associated with politicians.
Pennycuick’s legislation was arguably the inspiration for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) roundtable discussion earlier this year about the threats and dangers posed by those who exploit AI for malicious purposes, although he did not give her proper credit. It wasn’t the first time he had taken credit for others’ ideas, building on their efforts to inflate his political reputation. Furthermore, unlike Shapiro, who doesn’t hesitate to take credit for others’ accomplishments to cultivate a bipartisan image, Pennycuick actually does bipartisan work for the benefit of all Pennsylvanians.
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Yet, unlike Shapiro, Pennycuick doesn’t yearn for the spotlight and flattering headlines. She doesn’t work for the glory of recognition. As she did during the Persian Gulf War, she works during the day so others can sleep peacefully at night knowing they are protected. She is a crusader who champions the causes of the vulnerable and helpless.
Decades ago, she signed up to be a combat medic in the Army. Today, she puts those protective instincts to work against the harms caused by bad-faith actors exploiting AI. She has shown over the years that you can take the warrior off the battlefield, but you can’t make her stop protecting the innocent.