The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week proposed a new set of rules that would require robocallers to disclose when they use artificial intelligence for phone calls and text messages.
The proposal is based on the FCC's ban on placing AI-generated robocalls without the express prior consent of the person being called. The agency now hopes to require callers to say, while seeking that consent, whether they plan to use AI for future calls and messages, the FCC writes. Similar disclosures should be added to any AI-generated phone calls, which the agency says “contain an increased risk of fraud and other scams.”
The regulator suggests defining an “AI-generated call” as any call that uses technology to create “an artificial or pre-recorded voice or text using computational technology or other machine learning, including predictive algorithms and large language models, to process natural language and produce voice. or text content to communicate with the called party in an outgoing telephone call.”
Ultimately, the agency hopes to make an exception for cases where those with speech and hearing disabilities use AI-generated voice software to help them communicate on phone calls. The FCC would also require that there be no “unsolicited advertising” in such calls and that the people receiving the phone calls not be charged for them. The agency asked for specific comments on whether scammers might abuse the exemption and how it could update its rules to prevent that.