FTC Chair Khan Urges Enhanced Clarity and Resources in the Ongoing Battle for AI

In the increasingly intense battle to understand and regulate artificial intelligence (AI), Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairperson Lina Khan emphasized the need for additional support from Congress to keep up with technological advancements and effectively safeguard American consumers.

Khan expressed gratitude for Congress increasing the FTC’s budget, enabling more hiring. She highlighted the importance of Congress clarifying relevant laws and urged them to legislate and provide further clarity in response to the growing bipartisan interest in antitrust, digital markets, privacy issues, security issues in AI.

While the FTC’s budget has been increased, Khan acknowledged there are still “huge asymmetries of resources” between the regulator and the private sector. This gap makes it challenging for the FTC to stay abreast of AI developments.

Khan, speaking at Politico’s AI & Technology Summit, expressed enthusiasm for launching the agency’s new Office of Technology. However, she noted that compared to smaller nations, the U.S. has relatively limited technology and privacy resources.

Regarding the FTC’s call for more clarity from Congress, Khan explained that it would effectively protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices arising from the evolution of AI. Currently, the FTC relies on its existing statutory framework on unfair practices as a reference when regulating AI.

While urging Congress to provide clarity, Khan emphasized the importance of simplicity in the rules so that AI executives can clearly understand what is and isn’t allowed. She argued that simplicity is crucial, particularly for a nascent technology like AI.

“Historically, clear and simple rules have proven most successful,” she said. “Rules that permit or prohibit specific practices can offer much-needed clarity and administrative manageability.”

Khan also encouraged members of Congress to leverage the FTC as a resource when drafting legislation and crafting AI regulations in the near future.

This conversation followed the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit, filed along with a 17-state coalition, against Amazon the previous day.

According to Khan, this case is crucial for protecting American consumers. The FTC and the coalition allege that Amazon is engaging in anticompetitive behavior and exploiting consumers by increasing fees while decreasing the quality of service.

“This case is about ensuring that the American public benefits from free and fair competition, which our antitrust laws are designed to protect,” Khan emphasized.

Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.