U.S. Makes Moves to Regulate AI

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the creation of the U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC) to “unite AI creators and users, academics, government and industry researchers, and civil society organizations in support of the development and deployment of safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence.”

But is it a mere token gesture and is it even possible to deploy AI responsibly?

Last year, President Biden issued an Executive Order that established “new standards for AI safety and security,” an attempt to get ahead of one of the fastest emerging technologies.

Amongst other things, it directed AI developers to share safety test results with the U.S. government; develop standards, tools, and tests to help ensure that AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy; protect Americans from AI-enabled fraud, and more.

Essentially, it attempts to regulate something that may already be beyond the purview of regulators.

“The U.S. government has a significant role to play in setting the standards and developing the tools we need to mitigate the risks and harness the immense potential of artificial intelligence,” said Secretary Raimondo.

Six months later, the FCC has banned AI-Faked Robocall Voices, after robocalls caused a minor bit of havoc by impersonating President Biden, amongst other public figures (like Taylor Swift, who also fell victim to salacious AI images).

While scams like the aforementioned are already illegal, this new law outlaws the mere act of using AI to impersonate unlicensed voices.

I don’t have to tell you about the buzzsaw of 1st Amendment implications (and possible legal challenges) this could create, and once AI tools are more decentralized, enforcing laws like this could become extremely difficult.

"Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities and misinform voters. We're putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice," said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.­