Category:Artificial Intelligence
FTC Attempts to Keep Up with Tech: Proposed ban on AI to Impersonate Individuals
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces federal consumer protection laws that prevent fraud among other unfair business practices. On February 15, 2024 the Chair of the FTC Lina M. Khan released a joint statement with Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Commissioner Alvaro M. Bedoya stating the FTC finalized its rule prohibiting both government and business impersonation scheme, and is seeking public comment on a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that would extend the ban to include the impersonation of individuals as well. Specifically, the finalized rule and the proposed addition would prohibit the use of artificial intelligence or AI tools for impersonation. For consumers, this rule and the proposed addition provide much needed protection against fraudsters using AI-generated deepfakes. Given the increase in consumer fraud, it is imperative that the FTC expand consumer protection regulation in tandem with evolving technology.
Regulating AI Used to Predict and Prevent Sports Injuries: A Crucial Need
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in sports could revolutionize the way athletic injuries are predicted and managed. Notably, a variety of AI companies have developed software that forecasts potential injuries, possibly prolonging athletes’ careers. This technology analyzes data about the biomechanics of players, their frequency of play or training, and past injuries to identify patterns, find potential causes, and predict future injuries. There is immense value in preventing injuries in athletics for players, teams, and fans alike. It would therefore make sense that everyone is eager to utilize the findings of AI, but without regulation this could cause more harm than good.
AI Copyright Conundrum: An Evolving Legal Landscape
The objective of copyright law is to protect certain rights of a human author. But what happens when a nonhuman author creates something that is original, fixed, and has a minimal degree of creativity? Well, in the wild case of Naruto v. Slater, animals cannot have copyright protection in a “Monkey selfie.” As the technological world advances, the latest dispute that has everyone going bananas is AI and copyright protection. The Copyright Office will not register works “produced by a machine or mere mechanical process” such that there is no creative input from a human author because this kind of protection goes against the objective of copyright law.