President Joe Biden delivered a somewhat obscure State of the Union address on Thursday evening, emphasizing the urgent need for America to intensify its efforts in countering the influence of artificial intelligence. Alongside this, Biden advocated for more stringent sanctions against drug trafficking and enhanced privacy laws, outlining his key policy objectives.
During a joint session of Congress, Biden underscored, “I have approved more than 400 bipartisan bills, yet there is still work to be done. It is imperative to bolster sanctions targeting drug trafficking, enact bipartisan legislation safeguarding the privacy of online users, harness the capabilities of artificial intelligence while safeguarding against its potential risks, and prohibit AI voice impersonation, among other measures.”
Biden’s remarks were prompted by a recent deepfake telemarketing scheme that specifically targeted New Hampshire voters in January, utilizing artificial intelligence technology.
In response, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission issued a cease and desist order against the entity responsible for developing the algorithmic voice, Lingo Telecom. As the 2024 election cycle draws near, the FCC subsequently banned the utilization of AI in automated calls.
According to the FCC, “The proliferation of such calls has surged in recent years due to the capacity of this technology to propagate misinformation by mimicking the voices of public figures, political candidates, and even family members.”
The Biden Administration has been actively engaged in combating AI-generated deepfakes. Last year, the White House convened a summit with prominent AI developers, including OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Anthropic, Hugging Face, IBM, Stability AI, Amazon, Meta, and Inflection, to commit to the responsible advancement of AI technologies.
In February, the Biden Administration unveiled plans to combat social media disinformation through the implementation of hashing and encryption techniques. Subsequently, Biden inaugurated the AI Safety Institute Consortium, which includes industry giants such as Amazon, Google, Apple, Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, and NVIDIA.
Despite Biden’s stance on AI, he is not alone in his skepticism. Former President Donald Trump, Biden’s potential rival in the 2024 presidential race, also expressed concerns about artificial intelligence in an interview with Fox Business, labeling it as “highly perilous.”
Following instances where artificial intelligence-generated deepfake images targeted prominent figures such as the pope, Biden, and Trump, even Pope Francis raised objections against generative AI.
In a speech delivered in January, the Pope stressed, “We must remain vigilant of the rapid transformations occurring and manage them in a manner that upholds the institutions and standards that uphold core human dignity.” He added, “Artificial intelligence should align with our loftiest aspirations and fullest human capabilities, rather than compete with or undermine them.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
