President Joe Biden made a bold move in his State of the Union address on Thursday night, calling for the banning of voice impersonations powered by artificial intelligence systems. The president emphasized the need to harness the emerging technology while also protecting people from its potential dangers.
The call for action comes after Biden himself fell victim to an AI voice impersonation scam in January, where a cloned voice of the president was used in a robocalling operation during the New Hampshire primary. The incident prompted the Federal Communications Commission to make AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
While this move was a step in the right direction, it did not constitute a blanket ban on AI voice impersonations in other contexts at the federal level. The use of AI technologies in spam and robocalling operations has raised concerns, as these tools can automate tasks previously carried out by human managers.
As Congress, agencies, and the private sector continue to debate how to regulate AI systems, there is growing fear that the technology could be used to spread election misinformation and disinformation. A senior official from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recently stated that the agency has been monitoring AI-backed cyber campaigns aimed at influencing election outcomes.
With the 2022 midterm elections on the horizon, the issue of AI voice impersonations is likely to remain a hot topic of discussion. As technology continues to advance, it is crucial for policymakers to strike a balance between innovation and protecting the public from potential harm.