Gillibrand pushing to protect seniors from AI-powered scams - The Malone Telegram

Artificial intelligence and computerized voice synthesizer technologies are being used to scam Americans out of their money, and U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is demanding that the companies building these technologies explain what they’re doing to prevent those uses.

In a letter to nine leading generative AI companies, Gillibrand and Sen. Mark E. Kelly, D-Ariz., asked what those companies are doing to test the personalities they give their chatbots, how they track harmful reactions from users that result in hospitalization, financial loss or death, what they’re doing to protect seniors on their platforms, and if or how the company gives access to independent researchers to study their products.

In a press conference on Thursday, Gillibrand said she’s very worried about the impact of AI-powered scams on older Americans. She brought up the recent trend of voice-spoofing attacks where a scammer uses a computer-generated voice that resembles another person in their target’s immediate circle, demanding immediate money to fix an emergency. She’s introduced three bills aimed at combating the trend of these scams targeting seniors, and on Thursday said she will continue to focus on the subject.

“AI has supercharged financial scams against seniors, making them more convincing, more deceptive, and easier to pull off. We must take action to ensure that our seniors are protected,” she said. “I am working to make sure that AI companies are safeguarding their companion chatbot products to make them safer for older adults, and I am working on numerous bipartisan bills to govern AI development and protect older Americans from AI fraud and exploitation. I am proud to lead the fight for these reforms, and I will do everything I can to protect seniors from deception.”