Generative artificial intelligence systems have already made it easier for scammers to swindle money out of America’s seniors, and several senators have urged the Biden administration to step in from this rapidly emerging threat. I ask you to protect people.
Sen. Mike Brown (R., Ind.), the top Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Aging, told the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday that the latest information the FTC has on AI-driven fraud. He spearheaded a bipartisan letter seeking information. What are you doing to protect the elderly and protect people? The letter, signed by all Senate members of both parties, asks about AI-powered technologies that can be used to replicate people’s voices.
A letter to FTC Chairman Rina Khan shows scammers using voice clones and chatbots to trick seniors into believing they are talking to relatives or close friends, putting them at risk of theft. warned.
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Indiana Republican Senator Mike Brown led a letter calling on the FTC to take steps to protect seniors from AI-generated fraud. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“In one case, scammers used this trick to convince an elderly couple in need of bail that they were their grandchildren, and the couple nearly lost $9,400 until bank officials warned them of the possible fraud. ‘ said the Senate. said the letter. “Similarly in Arizona, a fraudster posing as a kidnapper used voice cloning technology to duplicate the sound of his mother’s crying daughter and demand a ransom.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Brown said “impersonation” scams cause about $2.6 billion in losses each year, adding that now that scammers have access to voice cloning technology, especially among the elderly, said to be at risk.
“There’s already been a call to the Indiana voter service line, and this kind of thing is happening to some extent,” Brown said. He added that impersonation can be done without using a false voice, but warned, “It’s like talking to your grandchildren, and AI makes it even easier.”
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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lina Khan received letters from all senators on the Senate Select Committee on Aging. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Brown’s staff said they’ve also heard complaints about fraud using voices like movies and pop star Jennifer Lopez. During his Senate hearings this week, Brown recalled when Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) held hearings on AI with an AI-generated voice resembling his own, reading out an AI-generated script, and accused him of fraud. The Master said he could access these. same tool.
“When you could recreate a voice that you couldn’t tell if it was Senator Blumenthal or a copy of it, it sounded exactly like him. Imagine that,” Brown said. “It’s a tool the scammers never had.”
As U.S. government policymakers seek greater regulatory scrutiny of the new technology, the FTC said it would use its powers wherever possible to protect consumers from AI. In a Senate letter to the agency, the FTC is “educating and enlightening” to help seniors understand that scammers may be using AI-generated voices to extort money from them. I suggest updating the documentation.
Brown said the FTC’s efforts to create this kind of public service message are a good start, noting that the Senate Select Committee on Aging maintains a senior senior fraud hotline and will soon be working on voice cloning technology. He added that he expected to start accepting complaints. He said the reports collected by the commission could be reflected in legislative action.
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“You can’t let AI run wild,” said Brown, who said he was glad industry leaders agreed. (Ting Sheng/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Brown predicts that the U.S. government will likely tackle more regulation around AI in the future, prompting OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other industry insiders to testify on AI this week, prompting increased federal oversight. I didn’t even notice that it looked like it was there.
“I’ve never seen a new technology or new business worry so much about how the people who created it are using it,” he says. “They worry that if they’re going to get any monetary value out of it, they need to make sure it’s properly regulated.”
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“I don’t think we can let AI run wild, and I’m glad to see people on the front lines thinking the same way,” he said.
