US regulator targets AI ahead of White House confab

AFP  :
A US regulator put artificial intelligence in the crosshairs ahead of a White House meeting Thursday with tech firms to strategize about its dangers.
“While the technology is moving swiftly, we already can see several risks,” Federal Trade Commission chief Lina Khan wrote in a guest essay in the New York Times.
“Enforcers and regulators must be vigilant.”
The tough talk comes as US lawmakers lag far behind their European counterparts when it comes to reining in big tech.
US President Joe Biden has urged Congress to pass laws putting stricter limits on the tech sector, but these efforts have little chance of making headway given political divisions.
The lack of rules has given Silicon Valley freedom to put out new products rapidly — and stoked fears that AI technologies will wreak havoc on society before the government can catch up.
The White House will meet with chief executives from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic on Thursday to discuss the promise and risks of artificial intelligence.
Vice President Kamala Harris and other administration officials will discuss ways to ensure consumers benefit from AI while being protected from its harms, according to a copy of an invitation seen by AFP.
“Don’t get your hopes up that this will lead to anything particularly meaningful, but it’s a good start,” said David Harris, a lecturer at Haas Business School at the University of California, Berkeley.
“The United States Congress can barely keep the government’s bank accounts full; I think it would be a lot for us to expect it to put forth any meaningful legislation about AI.”