COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Talk show host Stephen Colbert recently poked fun at an Ohio lawmaker for his proposed legal personhood and marriage ban for artificial intelligence systems.

During a segment about AI on The Late Show this week, Colbert brought up House Bill 469, sponsored by Rep. Thaddeus Claggett (R-Licking County). The legislation would prohibit AI systems from being recognized as people and ban the technology from marrying a human or another AI system.

“An Ohio lawmaker’s wife left him for a chatbot,” Colbert joked after bringing up the bill.

“This piece of legislation comes from Ohio representative Thaddeus Claggett,” Colbert continued. “No wonder he’s against technology, his name is 200 years old. You know his campaign slogan: Thaddeus Claggett, ‘Gol’ Darn Prairie Dog Stole My Hat Again!’”

Colbert then pulled up a photo of Claggett before saying “that doesn’t look right, can we run that through AI?” The same portrait was displayed again, this time with Claggett edited to wear a hat, sport a beard and have a piece of straw in his mouth.

Claggett addressed the segment in a Facebook post on Wednesday, writing that he would like to use it as an opportunity to talk more about his bill. He said while the legislation has been “sensationalized” as “anti-AI marriage,” it would establish a framework of liability for AI.

“I wouldn’t normally share something from a liberal like Colbert, but I thought this was funny – probably the first time he’s been funny all year, which would explain why CBS canceled his show,” Claggett wrote.

The lawmaker said the most important thing the bill would do is ensure developers and users of AI cannot absolve themselves of responsibility if the technology causes harm.

“We also want to make sure that these things can never be given control over decisions that should be made by a competent human,” Claggett said in the post. “This bill is intended as a preemptive measure.”

Claggett previously told NBC4 that the part of the bill addressing marriage would help prevent AI from taking on roles commonly held by spouses, such as holding power of attorney or making financial or medical decisions on another’s behalf.

“People need to understand, we’re not talking about marching down the aisle to some tune and having a ceremony with the robot that’ll be on our streets here in a year or two,” he said. “That could happen, but that’s not really what we’re saying.”

Under the legislation, AI could also not own or control real estate, intellectual property or financial accounts. It bans the technology from serving in management, director or officer roles in companies as well.