Speaking at a virtual press event, Khan was joined by top officials from US consumer protection and civil rights agencies.

Together, the officials emphasised that regulators are committed to tracking and stopping any illegal behaviour associated with biased or deceptive AI tools.

Khan warned that, in addition to the well-publicised deployment of automated tools that introduce bias into decisions about housing, loans, hiring, and productivity monitoring, the rapid evolution of advanced AI tools designed to generate human-like content also presents a significant risk.

Khan also expressed concern about AI tools that scammers could use to “manipulate and deceive people on a large scale, deploying fake or convincing content more widely and targeting specific groups with greater precision.”

She also warned that a small number of powerful firms already control the raw materials, data, cloud services, and computing power required to develop and deploy AI products. Khan raised the possibility that the FTC could wield its antitrust authority to protect competition.

“In moments of technological disruption, established players and incumbents may be tempted to crush, absorb or otherwise unlawfully restrain new entrants in order to maintain their dominance,” said Khan.

Khan did not specifically name any companies or products, but her comments will likely increase pressure on major tech firms like Google and Microsoft that are currently engaged in a race to sell more advanced AI tools.

The warnings from top US regulators come at a time when EU lawmakers are negotiating new rules designed to regulate AI, with some in the US calling for similar legislation.

The regulators said that many of the most harmful AI products might already contravene existing laws protecting civil rights and preventing fraud.

For her part, Khan reiterated that “there is no AI exemption to the laws on the books.”

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The Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy (CAIDP) claims OpenAI has violated section five of the FTC Act—alleging the company of deceptive and unfair practices.

Marc Rotenberg, Founder and President of the CAIDP, said:

“The FTC has a clear responsibility to investigate and prohibit unfair and deceptive trade practices. We believe that the FTC should look closely at OpenAI and GPT-4.

We are specifically asking the FTC to determine whether the company has complied with the guidance the federal agency has issued.”

The CAIDP claims that OpenAI’s GPT-4 is “biased, deceptive, and a risk to privacy and public safety”.

The think tank cited contents in the GPT-4 System Card that describe the model’s potential to reinforce biases and worldviews, including harmful stereotypes and demeaning associations for certain marginalised groups.

In the aforementioned System Card, OpenAI acknowledges that it “found that the model has the potential to reinforce and reproduce specific biases and worldviews, including harmful stereotypical and demeaning associations for certain marginalized groups.”

Furthermore, the document states: “AI systems will have even greater potential to reinforce entire ideologies, worldviews, truths and untruths, and to cement them or lock them in, foreclosing future contestation, reflection, and improvement.”

Other harmful outcomes that OpenAI says GPT-4 could lead to include:

1. Advice or encouragement for self-harm behaviours
2. Graphic material such as erotic or violent content
3. Harassing, demeaning, and hateful content
4. Content useful for planning attacks or violence
5. Instructions for finding illegal content

The CAIDP claims that OpenAI released GPT-4 to the public without an independent assessment of its risks.

Last week, the FTC told American companies advertising AI products:

“Merely warning your customers about misuse or telling them to make disclosures is hardly sufficient to deter bad actors.

Your deterrence measures should be durable, built-in features and not bug corrections or optional features that third parties can undermine via modification or removal.”

With its filing, the CAIDP calls on the FTC to investigate the products of OpenAI and other operators of powerful AI systems, prevent further commercial releases of GPT-4, and ensure the establishment of necessary guardrails to protect consumers, businesses, and the commercial marketplace.

Merve Hickok, Chair and Research Director of the CAIDP, commented:

“We are at a critical moment in the evolution of AI products.

We recognise the opportunities and we support research. But without the necessary safeguards established to limit bias and deception, there is a serious risk to businesses, consumers, and public safety.

The FTC is uniquely positioned to address this challenge.”

The complaint was filed as Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and other AI experts signed a petition to “pause” development on AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.

However, other high-profile figures believe progress shouldn’t be slowed/halted:

Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI, which was originally created as a nonprofit with the mission of ensuring that AI benefits humanity. Musk resigned from OpenAI’s board in 2018 and has publicly questioned the company’s transformation:

Global approaches to AI regulation

As AI systems become more advanced and powerful, concerns over their potential risks and biases have grown. Organisations such as CAIDP, UNESCO, and the Future of Life Institute are pushing for ethical guidelines and regulations to be put in place to protect the public and ensure the responsible development of AI technology.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) has called on countries to implement its “Recommendation on the Ethics of AI” framework.

Earlier today, Italy banned ChatGPT. The country’s data protection authorities said it would be investigated and the system does not have a proper legal basis to be collecting personal information about the people using it.

The wider EU is establishing a strict regulatory environment for AI, in contrast to the UK’s relatively “light-touch” approach.

Tim Wright, Partner and specialist tech and AI regulation lawyer at law firm Fladgate, commented on the UK’s vision:

“The regulatory principles set out in the whitepaper simply confirm the Government’s preferred approach which they say will encourage innovation in the space without imposing an undue burden on businesses developing and adopting AI while encouraging fair and ethical use and protecting individuals.

Time will tell if this sector-by-sector approach has the desired effect. What it does do is put the UK on a completely different approach from the EU, which is pushing through a detailed rulebook backed up by a new liability regime and overseen by a single super AI regulator.”

As always, it’s a balancing act between regulation and innovation. Not enough regulation puts the public at risk while too much risks driving innovation elsewhere.

(Photo by Ben Sweet on Unsplash)

Related: What will AI regulation look like for businesses?

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Arm plays a critical role in the global technology supply chain with its designs used for edge AI chips and processors for smartphones, tablets, desktops, and servers.

It’s of little surprise that Nvidia wants to bring Arm under its wing and is willing to pay $40 billion (£29 billion) for it.

Global regulators, including in the UK and EU, have launched investigations into the deal due to the widespread implications.

Holly Vedova, Director of the Bureau of Competition at the FTC, said in a statement:

“The FTC is suing to block the largest semiconductor chip merger in history to prevent a chip conglomerate from stifling the innovation pipeline for next-generation technologies.

Tomorrow’s technologies depend on preserving today’s competitive, cutting-edge chip markets. This proposed deal would distort Arm’s incentives in chip markets and allow the combined firm to unfairly undermine Nvidia’s rivals.

The FTC’s lawsuit should send a strong signal that we will act aggressively to protect our critical infrastructure markets from illegal vertical mergers that have far-reaching and damaging effects on future innovations.”

The complaint highlights that Nvidia already uses Arm’s designs for areas including DPU SmartNICs, CPUs for cloud computing, and advanced driving systems. The FTC is concerned that Nvidia would have an incentive to use its acquisition of Arm to limit competitors’ access to new designs.

Some of Nvidia’s rivals have offered to invest in Arm if it helps the company to remain independent.

Dr Lil Read, Analyst at GlobalData, commented:

“The Nvidia-ARM deal is on its last legs. The regulatory environment is much tougher now since Qualcomm has formed a consortium to invest in ARM.

The FTC won’t let it be – nor will the UK CMA or the EU regulator. It’s likely that even if the deal managed to clear those hurdles, Chinese regulators would throw another spanner in the works.

Tying the acquisition up for another two years is not in anyone’s interest – not Nvidia’s, and certainly not ARM’s. There could be hope for ARM if a non-chip firm recognises this opportunity for vertical integration – a trend that we increasingly see with the likes of Tesla and Apple.”

Arm founder Hermann Hauser even suggested the merger would amount to “surrendering the UK’s most powerful trade weapon to the US”.

Last month, UK Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries ordered the CMA (Competition & Markets Authority) to launch a “Phase Two” probe into the proposed merger.

As part of its ‘Phase One’ report, the CMA determined the merger has the possibility of a “substantial lessening of competition across four key markets”. Those markets are data centres, the Internet of Things, automotive, and gaming.

The CMA now has 24 weeks to conduct Phase Two of its investigation.

Nvidia, for its part, has promised to work with UK regulators to alleviate concerns. The company has already pledged to keep Arm in the UK and hire more staff.

“Arm is an incredible company and it employs some of the greatest engineering minds in the world,” said Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. “But we believe we can make Arm even more incredible and take it to even higher levels.”

Today’s decision by the FTC to launch a lawsuit makes the likelihood of the merger proceeding ever more remote.

(Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash)

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