FTC chair says agency watching for ‘unfair or deceptive’ AI use

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan pledged for the agency to be vigilant in monitoring “unfair or deceptive” uses of artificial intelligence (AI) as the technology is increasingly deployed across critical sectors. 

In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Wednesday, Khan said it is crucial for the FTC to monitor the risks to ensure “the hard-learned history” of the rise of Web 2.0 doesn’t repeat itself — when she said mainstream tech giants “revolutionized communications” at a “steep cost” paid in the “widespread hoarding and sale of our personal data.”

“As companies race to deploy and monetize A.I., the Federal Trade Commission is taking a close look at how we can best achieve our dual mandate to promote fair competition and to protect Americans from unfair or deceptive practices,” Khan wrote. 

“Although these tools are novel, they are not exempt from existing rules, and the F.T.C. will vigorously enforce the laws we are charged with administering, even in this new market,” she added. 

Khan’s op-ed also doubles down on a commitment that she, along with leaders at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), made last month. The agencies vowed to enforce existing laws that aim to uphold fairness and justice as AI is increasingly used across a range of services, including critical ones like employment, housing and health care. 

Policymakers and regulators are grappling with how to tackle concerns raised by AI amid an explosive rise in generative AI tools, mainly OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The generative AI rise is posing concerns about the risk of misinformation, scams, and data collection. 

As lawmakers consider guardrails to put in place, though, industry stakeholders have warned against regulation too quickly and harming U.S. innovation on a competitive scale, especially with China. 

Khan called the moment a  “key decision point,” in her piece.

“Can we continue to be the home of world-leading technology without accepting race-to-the-bottom business models and monopolistic control that locks out higher quality products or the next big idea? Yes — if we make the right policy choices,” she wrote.