FTC Chair Lina Khan shares how the agency is looking at AI

Lina Khan mentioned the recent incident involving voice-cloning technology and actress Scarlett Johansson. OpenAI released a ChatGPT voice that sounded like Johansson, who had famously voiced an AI in the movie "Her." The actress claims she refused OpenAI's offer to record her voice for the chatbot, after which the company cloned her voice instead. However, OpenAI claims it simply used another voice actress.

Lina Khan, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), mentioned several challenges the agency faces in policing AI technology2. These challenges include:

1. Understanding the complexities of AI technology: The FTC is working to gain a deep understanding of AI, from the chips to the cloud, to the models and the downstream apps, to effectively regulate the industry.

2. Limited resources: Despite hiring more technologists, the FTC has fewer staff members now than it had in the 1980s. This poses a challenge in effectively policing AI technology.

3. Balancing innovation and regulation: The FTC aims to foster innovation while preventing harm caused by AI technology. It's a delicate balance that requires careful consideration of both aspects.

4. Identifying and addressing AI-related fraud: The FTC is working on developing mechanisms to detect and combat fraud involving AI technology, such as voice cloning for fraudulent purposes.

5. Ensuring transparency and openness in AI: The FTC wants to ensure that claims of openness in AI are genuine and not just branding exercises. The agency aims to prevent "open first, closed later" dynamics observed in the Web 2.0 era.

6. Monitoring AI hype and deceptive advertising: The FTC is keeping an eye on the industry to ensure that companies do not overstate the value of their AI products. It has already addressed several cases related to AI hype and deceptive advertising.