Two bipartisan senators said they want new warning labels attached to content made with artificial intelligence in an effort to fight scammers using emerging tech tools to dupe Americans.
Sens. Brian Schatz, Hawaii Democrat, and John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, said their AI Labeling Act is needed to let people know when they are watching, reading and listening to AI-powered content or conversing with an AI chatbot.
“Our bill is simple — if any content is made by artificial intelligence, it should be labeled so that people are aware and aren’t fooled or scammed,” Mr. Schatz said in a statement Tuesday.
Fake images of an explosion near the Pentagon and scam calls impersonating loved ones’ voices are the types of dangerous content Mr. Schatz wants to diminish.
Identifying when content is real or fake is far from quick and easy, so the senators propose empowering the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the AI rules. Violations would be punished by the FTC akin to other fines for deception under existing law, according to the senators’ draft bill.
While AI-manipulated images and audio can serve to further fear and doubt, some government officials want to use the tools for a positive advantage. For example, New York Mayor Eric Adams is using AI tools to address constituents in languages he doesn’t speak.
Mr. Adams used the tech to make robocalls using his voice speaking foreign languages, including Spanish and Mandarin, the mayor’s office told The City.
Making AI rules that address concerns about content without curtailing speech will be challenging for Congress — and costly.
While consensus has yet to emerge on any specific set of AI rules, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer indicated Tuesday that whatever Congress decides will require taxpayers to foot the bill.
“It is clear that American leadership on AI can’t be done on the cheap,” Mr. Schumer said in closing remarks at the second AI Insight Forum he convened.
The New York senator has organized the private forums for lawmakers to huddle with tech experts to discuss the pitfalls and potential of AI outside the traditional Senate committee structure. The first meeting featured tech titans such as X owner Elon Musk and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. The second gathering on Tuesday reportedly included major venture capitalists such as Marc Andreessen and Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr.
In Mr. Schumer’s closing remarks at the second forum, he emphasized the need to weigh fostering AI development against minimizing potential harm involving things such as racial and gender bias.
“We need to strike a balance between transformational and sustainable innovation,” the Democrat said. “Finding this balance will be key to our success.”
