At a time when artificial intelligence is shaking up health care while sparking concerns and lawsuits, state Rep. Travis Nelson wants to make sure AI can’t get away with pretending to be a nurse.

Nurses in Oregon and elsewhere have become increasingly anxious since a tech company’s announcement it had developed a $9-an-hour AI program that could take over work normally done by nurses paid ten times that rate.

Nelson, a nurse and a Portland Democrat, is responding with House Bill 2748, a narrowly focused bill that would ban any “nonhuman” entity, including artificial intelligence, from using the title of “nurse.”

The bill comes as AI is already remaking health care. High-tech algorithms are being used to increase revenues and lower costs across the industry, such as by triaging patients and assisting with diagnosis, imaging and other care decisions. It’s making coverage decisions and accelerating hospital “throughput” by directing providers in a manner intended to discharge patients as quickly as possible.