You Didn't Ask...But : Here We Go Again - 2 by Brett Matthew West |
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(This article is follow-up to my Here We Go Again commentary posted on February 12, 2024. You may wish to read that piece to better comprehend what this posting is in reference to. In order to read the first Commentary, click on the blue 25 in the middle of the top of this post.)
On Thursday, February 8, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission outlawed robocalls containing voices generated by Artificial Intelligence. Their decision was intended to send a clear message that exploiting the technology used to scam people will not be permitted under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This 1991 law restricted junk calls using AI and prerecorded voice messages. I do not know about your thoughts on that subject, but I tend to believe the 1991 law was more or less a massive failure. Effective immediately, if not sooner, the FCC's new regulation permits the FCC to fine companies who incorporate AI-generated voices in their robocalls, and the regulation blocks service providers who carry these robocalls. Under this regulation, lawsuits can be filed by call recipients against companies which employ AI-generated robocalls. In addition, the regulation allows State Attorney Generals to crack down on violators of this law. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, "It {Ai-generated robocalls} seems like something from the far-off future, but this threat is already here. All of us could be on the receiving end of these faked calls, so that's why we {the FCC} felt the time to act was now." The FCC's consumer protection law is designed to prevent telemarketers from generally using automated dialers, and artificial or prerecorded voice messages, to robocall cellphones and landline telephones without prior written consent from the call recipients. Lawbreakers of this new FCC regulation can be fined more than $23,000 a call. Those who interfere in elections can be fined in excess of $5 million. Call recipients can sue these violators for up to $1,500 for each unwanted AI-generated robocall received. Now for the pessimistic side of the coin. Josh Lawson, is the current Director of AI and Democracy of the Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute states on its webpage its purpose is to "Drive change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the greatest challenges of our time." Anyway, Josh Lawson said, "Even with the FCC's ruling, citizens should prepare themselves for personalized spam to target them by phone, text and social media." Isn't that a smelly crock of crap? It is also the way many sources feel AI-generated robocallers will attempt to skirt around this new FCC ruling. Thus, the battle rages on. Lawson further stated, "The true dark hats tend to disregard the {high} stakes and they know what they're doing is unlawful. We have to understand bad actors are going to continue to rattle the cages and push the limits." What else is new? In the words of Kathleen Carley, a Carnegie Mellon professor who specializes in computational disinformation, "In order to detect AI abuse of voice technology, one needs to be able to clearly identify that the audio was AI generated." Some tools that produce AI-generated robocalls include voice-cloning softwares, image generators, AI-generated audio and imagery, as well as chatboxes. The more one can learn to best defend themselves against AI-generated robocalls, the better off they become. Have I stated lately how much I DESPISE ALL SCAMS?
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Copyright 2024.
Brett Matthew West
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