FTC probing artificial intelligence tools, eyeing potential crackdown
The Federal Trade Commission is scrutinizing artificial intelligence as the regulator known for its tussles with Big Tech looks to shape the development of new tools hitting the market.
The potential for AI to turbocharge fraud, entrench the dominance of tech firms, and lock in business models built upon surveillance are among the problems under review by the agency, according to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan.
Ms. Khan said at an agency roundtable event that her agency will use all of its authorities to enforce antitrust and consumer fraud laws against AI makers.
“We want to make sure the market understands that there’s no AI exemption to the laws on the books,” Ms. Khan said Wednesday. “So all of the laws that already prohibit unfair methods of competition or collusion or discrimination or deception, all of those laws still entirely apply.”
Ms. Khan said the FTC wants to play a role in shaping the development of AI tools through the application of existing rules.
Using the Consumer Sentinel Network, a complaint database for law enforcement officials, the FTC said it found thousands of concerns about AI registered in the previous 12 months.
The database showed consumers concerned about copyright, personal data use, bias, customer service, scams and other malicious uses, according to Simon Fondrie-Teitler and Amritha Jayanti, who work in the FTC’s Bureau of Competition and Office of Technology.
The duo wrote on the agency’s blog this week that they are keeping a close watch on AI makers and their products to prevent harm to Americans.
“AI is also fundamentally shifting the way we operate; it’s lurking behind the scenes (or, in some cases, operating right in our faces) and changing the mechanics by which we go about our daily lives,” Mr. Fondrie-Teitler and Ms. Jayanti wrote. “That can be unsettling, especially when the harms brought about by that change are tangible and felt by everyday consumers.”
Federal lawmakers are conflicted about delegating regulatory authority over AI firms to the FTC.
Sen. Ted Cruz wrote to the FTC in September with questions about the agency’s plans to regulate AI over bias and disinformation concerns. The Texas Republican said he was worried the FTC would aggressively police AI without authorization from Congress.
“For the FTC to undertake new regulation or an investigation, more than fearmongering and fanciful speculation are required by law,” he wrote.
Other Republican senators have urged Biden administration regulators to pause and wait for Congress to act before cracking down on AI.
Many Democratic lawmakers, however, want the FTC to patrol the AI marketplace more aggressively. Last month, a dozen Democratic senators proposed the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023 that tasks the FTC with enforcing requirements for companies to assess their AI products.
Disagreement regarding AI enforcement on Capitol Hill is unlikely to slow the Biden administration’s push to put its stamp on the emerging technology, which China and other countries are actively pursuing.
White House officials are working on an artificial intelligence-themed executive order for President Biden to sign this year, according to Jen Easterly, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director.
