Spanberger-led legislation would protect Americans from risks of AI-generated fraud, crime

U.S. foreign adversaries are capitalizing on advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).

According to a report released last month by Microsoft, state-backed hackers from Russia, China, North Korea and Iran have been using tools from Microsoft-backed OpenAI to refine their hacking campaigns and breach their targets. Adversaries may be able to coerce Americans into turning over their data, disrupt financial markets and raise false flags that trigger a defense response.

The bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Practices, Logistics, Actions, and Necessities (AI PLAN) Act would require the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Commerce, & Homeland Security to develop a national strategy to defend against the risks posed by AI-generated misinformation, fraud and financial crime. The legislation was introduced by U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Zach Nunn Iowa to prevent artificial intelligence (AI) from being used to endanger America’s economy and national security.

“State-backed hackers and scammers — linked to the Chinese Communist Party, North Korea, Iran, and Russia — are already employing artificial intelligence to generate misinformation, commit fraud, and carry out financial crimes. As our adversaries continue to invest in AI and develop this technology, Congress must swiftly address the gaps in our defense against adversarial uses of AI. We must protect American businesses, people, financial markets, and supply chains from foreign influence. I’m proud to join Congressman Nunn in taking real steps to strengthen our nation’s defenses against economic and national security threats from maligned use of this technology,” Spanberger said.

The U.S. Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security would be required to develop a national strategy to defend against the economic and national security threats posed by AI-generated misinformation, fraud, and financial crime, including deep fakes, voice cloning, foreign election interference, synthetic identities and false signals that disrupt market operations. The legislation would also require the agencies to identify existing enforcement actions in place to defend against adversarial uses of AI.

“Artificial intelligence is an emerging technology that has created new opportunities and technological advancements to help move our society forward. There is also a ton of risk that our adversaries — like the Chinese Communist Party, North Korea, Russia, and Iran — will use it to generate misinformation, commit fraud, and perpetrate crimes,” Nunn said. “Our adversaries will continue to invest in AI technology, so America must develop a plan now to strengthen our defenses and thwart their attacks to protect American businesses, markets, and families.” 

The bipartisan AI PLAN Act directs the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security to:  

·Issue a report to Congress identifying existing enforcement actions to defend U.S. persons, U.S. financial markets, U.S. businesses, and global supply chains against the national and economic security risks posed by adversarial use of AI; 

·Provide forward-looking legislative recommendations to address and mitigate the adversarial use of AI; 

·Issue “best practices” to assist American businesses and government entities with risk mitigation and incident response.