FCC bans spam calls using AI-generated voices

ABC News
9 Feb 202404:06

TLDRThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has outlawed robocalls that utilize artificial intelligence to generate fake voices, often imitating celebrities, politicians, or family members. This move aims to empower authorities to identify and penalize companies using AI for such calls, enhancing state-level enforcement against AI voice spam. Additionally, states are considering legislation against deep fakes, and tech companies, including Google, are collaborating on a digital standard to authenticate the origin of digital content, offering transparency and aiding users in discerning AI-generated material.

Takeaways

  • 🚫 The FCC has made AI-generated voice spam calls illegal.
  • 🤖 Bad actors misuse AI to mimic voices of celebrities, politicians, and family members for scams.
  • 📣 These scam calls can persuade people to take actions like not voting or buying certain products.
  • 📈 A notable instance involved New Hampshire residents being urged not to vote, seemingly by President Biden's voice.
  • 🏛️ The FCC's ban aims to locate and penalize the companies behind these AI voice robo-calls.
  • 🔍 Increased enforcement power is given to individual states to combat AI voice spam calls.
  • 🤔 There's uncertainty about potential federal legislation against AI-generated deep fakes across all media.
  • 🌟 States are taking initiative, passing laws to ban deceptive deep fakes, including audio, video, and images.
  • 💡 Tech companies are collaborating on a digital standard to authenticate content creation, aiding in identifying AI-generated media.
  • 🔗 Google and OpenAI have announced support for this digital standard, embedding metadata in their AI-generated images.
  • 🛡️ This progress empowers users to independently verify the authenticity of online content before major events like elections.

Q & A

  • What has the FCC recently banned?

    -The FCC has recently banned robocalls that use fake voices generated by artificial intelligence.

  • How do AI-generated voices mimic real people?

    -AI-generated voices can mimic voices of celebrities, political candidates, or even close family members by using advanced artificial intelligence tools, making it easier to create deceptive content.

  • What was an example given in the script of AI-generated voices being misused?

    -An example given was New Hampshire residents receiving calls in January encouraging them not to vote, where the AI-generated voice was mimicking President Biden.

  • What impact can these AI-generated scam calls have?

    -These AI-generated scam calls can have real impacts, such as influencing political decisions or promoting products, by misleading people into believing the message is from a trusted figure.

  • How does the FCC plan to enforce the ban on AI-generated voice robocalls?

    -The FCC plans to use its authority to find and go after the companies using AI voice robocalls, and also to give individual states more power to crack down on these scam calls.

  • What is the role of states in combating AI-generated voices?

    -Individual states are taking their own initiatives by passing legislation to ban deepfakes, which include deceptive audio, videos, and images created using AI.

  • Is there a possibility of federal legislation on this matter?

    -There's a question mark regarding the passing of a federal legislation to address the issue of AI-generated voices, but states are actively working on their own legislation.

  • What is the new digital standard being worked on by tech companies?

    -Tech companies are working on a new digital standard that would provide transparency about the origin of digital content, allowing users to verify if the content was created by a human or a machine.

  • How will the new digital standard help users?

    -The new digital standard will empower users by providing them with information on how an image or any content was created, enabling them to make informed decisions about the authenticity of the content.

  • Which companies have announced their support for the new digital standard?

    -Google and OpenAI have announced their support for the new digital standard, with OpenAI committing to embed metadata onto their products created using AI tools.

  • What is the significance of the new digital standard for the upcoming elections?

    -The new digital standard is significant for the upcoming elections as it aims to provide users with the tools to identify and verify content, potentially reducing the impact of deceptive AI-generated materials on the electoral process.

Outlines

00:00

🚨 FCC Cracks Down on AI-Generated Robo Calls

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has declared AI-generated robo calls, which use fake voices mimicking celebrities, political figures, or family members, illegal. These scam calls can manipulate recipients into actions like not voting in elections or purchasing products. The new legislation aims to identify and penalize the companies behind these calls, empowering states to enforce against AI voice spam. Tech and software companies are also developing a digital standard to help users verify the authenticity of online content, with Google and OpenAI supporting this initiative by embedding metadata in their products.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government responsible for regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. In the context of the video, the FCC has made AI-generated voice spam calls illegal, highlighting their role in controlling and preventing deceptive practices in communication.

💡spam calls

Spam calls are unsolicited, automated phone calls that often attempt to promote products or services, or scam recipients. In the video, it is discussed how these spam calls have evolved with AI technology, making them more deceptive by mimicking familiar voices, and the FCC's efforts to ban such calls to protect consumers.

💡artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. In the video, AI is used to generate fake voices that can mimic celebrities, politicians, or family members, which is then used in deceptive spam calls. The advancement of AI technology is a central theme, as it enables new forms of communication manipulation.

💡AI-generated voices

AI-generated voices are synthetic sounds created by artificial intelligence that can imitate the speech patterns and tones of real people, including celebrities or political figures. The video discusses how these AI voices are used in scam calls to manipulate recipients into taking actions like not voting or purchasing certain products, emphasizing the ethical concerns and potential harm caused by such misuse of technology.

💡celebrities

Celebrities are famous individuals, often from the entertainment industry or sports, who are well-known to the public. In the context of the video, celebrities' voices are mimicked by AI to create deceptive messages in spam calls, demonstrating how technology can be exploited to use the influence of well-known figures for malicious purposes.

💡political candidates

Political candidates are individuals who run for public office in elections. The video highlights that AI-generated voices can mimic political candidates, potentially influencing political behavior, such as encouraging people not to vote, which can have significant societal impacts and undermines the democratic process.

💡robo calls

Robo calls are automated phone calls that deliver a pre-recorded message to a large number of recipients. The video discusses the evolution of robo calls with AI, making them more convincing and harder to detect, and the FCC's efforts to regulate these calls to protect consumers from scams and misinformation.

💡deep fakes

Deep fakes are synthetic media in which a person's likeness—face, voice, and speech patterns—are replaced with someone else's identity, often without their consent and in ways that are nearly impossible to detect. In the video, deep fakes are mentioned as a broader issue that includes not just audio but also video and images, and the efforts to create legislation and digital standards to combat their deceptive use.

💡digital standard

A digital standard refers to a set of rules or specifications for digital technology that ensures consistency and interoperability across different platforms. In the video, the development of a new digital standard is discussed, which would help users identify whether content was created by humans or machines, providing transparency and potentially mitigating the spread of AI-generated misinformation.

💡metadata

Metadata is data that provides information about other data. In the context of the video, metadata embedded in images or other content created with AI tools would indicate the source and method of creation, allowing users to understand the authenticity of the content and make informed decisions about its credibility.

💡Google

Google is a multinational technology company that specializes in internet-related services and products. In the video, Google's announcement to join the coalition promoting the new digital standard for AI-generated content is mentioned, showing the company's commitment to combating misinformation and supporting transparency in digital media.

Highlights

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has banned AI-generated voices in spam calls, declaring them illegal.

AI voices often mimic celebrities, political candidates, and even close family members, making it easier to deceive recipients.

Bad actors use AI-generated voices to manipulate people, such as encouraging not voting in elections or purchasing certain products.

An example of misuse involved New Hampshire residents receiving calls discouraging voting, seemingly from President Biden, but were actually AI-generated.

The ban aims to empower authorities to find and penalize the companies behind these AI voice robo calls.

Individual states are being given more power to crack down on AI voice spam calls, as part of a broader effort to combat misuse of AI.

There is a possibility of federal legislation to further regulate the use of AI in creating deceptive content.

States are passing their own legislation to ban deepfakes, which include not just audio but also video and images.

Tech and software companies are collaborating on a new digital standard to help identify AI-generated content.

The proposed digital standard would offer transparency, allowing users to understand the origin of online content.

Google and OpenAI have announced their support for the digital standard, embedding metadata into their products to indicate AI-generated images.

The digital standard aims to empower users to independently verify the authenticity of content before elections and beyond.

The FCC's decision is a significant step towards combating the misuse of AI in misinformation campaigns.

The collaboration between states, federal agencies, and tech companies shows a concerted effort to address AI-generated deception.

The transparency provided by the digital standard could be a game-changer in the fight against AI-generated fake news.

The developments in legislation and technology offer hope for mitigating the impact of AI-generated voices in scams and misinformation.

The ban on AI-generated voices in spam calls is a proactive measure to protect the public from increasingly sophisticated deceptions.

The combination of legal and technological efforts signals a comprehensive approach to tackling the challenges posed by AI in the realm of communication.

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