The new frontier

It seems that every day we are encountering some new advances in artificial intelligence. Whether that be through a new chatbot or a service that can generate custom images upon your request, these advances are coming at a breakneck pace.

While it is important that we allow fledgling technologies to be developed and applied in ways that are beneficial, the government needs to get serious about putting protections in place to safeguard Americans from new threats as these technologies evolve.

In the case of AI, we've seen scammers misuse new tools to steal Americans' identities and commit other forms of fraud. In the wake of these developments, we need smarter approaches to confirm that a person really is who they claim to be. As it turns out, experts agree the most reliable way to verify someone's identity is in-person, face to face.

This is why I've co-sponsored legislation in the Senate to tackle this problem head-on and ensure that our verification processes and privacy protections keep pace with the rapidly changing technological landscape.

Identity verification is just one of the many side effects of AI technology that I believe lawmakers need to address. It may be a small piece of the puzzle, but it's an important one. I'm continuing to tackle this issue from every angle, including pushing federal agencies to put guardrails in place to ensure the AI technologies they're relying on aren't harming Americans. To that end, I'm also leading the charge in the Senate to pass my legislation that will reduce algorithmic bias in AI technology that disproportionately impacts Americans based on their race, gender, and age.

Our hope is that as these technologies continue to advance and change our way of life, we act to account for unintended consequences. My commitment — as always — is to protect consumers and make sure that we always have a safety net for people as our economy and society evolve.

More soon,

Ron