| Happy Wednesday! I can't get enough of this story about Brazil's Outback obsession. Send news and dining tips to: cristiano.lima@washpost.com. 🚨 Breaking this morning: Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) is set to lay out his early vision for regulating artificial intelligence. Follow our coverage here.
Below: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) launches an Amazon investigation, and the largest U.S. newspaper chain sues Google. First: | The AI debate is sweeping through the federal government |  Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced a workshop on artificial intelligence. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) | | | A growing segment of the federal government is stepping up efforts to grapple with artificial intelligence tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard, with telecommunications regulators, election officials and others increasingly joining the debate around AI policy. The moves underscore the rising level of both fascination and trepidation about the technology in Washington as AI investment skyrockets in Silicon Valley. In April, a slew of agencies that traditionally have played a bigger role in overseeing AI deployment announced steps to keep the technology in check, including the Commerce Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. Several emphasized the need to uphold the rules on the books to prevent AI from supercharging discrimination. As scrutiny over how AI has and will impact industries across the economy continues to soar, more federal agencies are entering the fray. The Federal Communications Commission and the National Science Foundation on Tuesday announced plans to hold a workshop next month on the "opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence for communications networks and consumers." FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement that AI offers "a real opportunity for communications to become more efficient, more impactful, and more resilient" but could pose "challenges" for the telecom sector as well. | | As David DiMolfetta reported for The Technology 202 last month, the rise of generative AI tools could soon force the telecommunications regulator "to tackle artificial intelligence, an area that's beginning to intersect with communications infrastructure and airwaves." The Federal Election Commission, meanwhile, announced that on Thursday it will consider crafting rules to govern the use of AI in campaign ads, such as the use of deepfakes. One Democratic lawmaker has proposed legislation requiring the disclosure of AI in political ads. Other agencies have also dialed up their own AI discussions in recent weeks, including whether to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT internally: | - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, led by former FTC commissioner Rohit Chopra, released a report this month detailing how financial institutions using chatbots "can impede customers from resolving problems" if deployed poorly.
- The State Department announced it is seeking industry feedback about the possibility of using generative AI tools to help write contracts, as FedScoop reported. The agency is also exploring "hurdles and security considerations to introducing generative and natural language processing AI onto the Department's network."
| | The moves arrive as President Biden urges officials across his administration to increase their focus on benefits and risks posed by AI. Ahead of a meeting on AI with advocacy leaders and other officials in San Francisco on Tuesday, Biden forecast that the recent explosion of investment in AI would lead to "more technological change in the next 10 years than we've seen in the last 50 years." "My administration is committed … to safeguarding Americans' rights and safety, from protecting privacy to addressing bias and disinformation to making sure AI systems are safe before they are released," Biden said during the event. (More from Gerrit De Vynck and I here.) Participants included Center for Humane Technology executive director and co-founder Tristan Harris, Common Sense Media founder and CEO Jim Steyer, Algorithmic Justice League founder Joy Buolamwini and Khan Academy CEO and founder Sal Khan. A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details about Tuesday's meeting, said that Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients is looking into additional actions the administration could take in the coming weeks, and that White House officials have been meeting to discuss the topic, in addition to the work happening at the agency level. | | |  | Our top tabs | | Bernie Sanders launches investigation into Amazon labor practices |  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) launched an investigation this week into Amazon and the company's warehouse working conditions. (Elizabeth Frantz for The Washington Post) | | | "In a letter to Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy, Sanders demanded information about the company's 'systematically underreported' injury rates, employee turnover, productivity targets and adherence to federal and state safety recommendations," they write. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post. Interim Post chief executive Patty Stonesifer sits on Amazon's board. "What Amazon does, their attitude, their lack of respect for workers, permeates the American corporate world," Sanders told our colleagues in an interview. He later added that it's an "absolute possibility" he would call on Jassy or Bezos to testify in a hearing. Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly said the company "received Chairman Sanders's letter this evening and are in the early stages of reviewing it" and added that Sanders had an open invitation to tour an Amazon warehouse. | Microsoft, Activision CEOs to testify in hearing over FTC bid to block purchase |  Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (Jovelle Tamayo for The Washington Post) | | | Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will testify in an evidentiary hearing beginning this week on the Federal Trade Commission's attempt to block the tech giant's purchase of the video game company, David Shepardson reports for Reuters. Shepardson writes: "The FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft from completing its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft has argued that if the court grants an injunction it would effectively kill the deal, which has a termination date of July 18 and contains a $3 billion termination fee that Microsoft would have to pay." The hearing will run June 22-29. The development is Microsoft's latest obstacle in gaining global regulator approval to close the transaction, announced in January 2022. "The FTC has argued the transaction would give Microsoft's video game console Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony Group Corp's PlayStation out in the cold," Shepardson writes. New Zealand regulators this week said they share those concerns. Overseas, E.U. antitrust enforcers recently approved the transaction, while the U.K. has blocked it. Both companies are expected to make their case to Britain next month. | Gannett sues Google over alleged digital ad dominance |  Gannett alleges the search giant's dominance in the digital ad space stifles the local news industry. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) | | | Major U.S. newspaper chain Gannett sued Google on Tuesday, alleging the search giant's dominance in the digital ad space stifles the local news industry, our colleagues Herb Scribner and Gerrit De Vynck report. They write: "The complaint from Gannett, filed in federal court in New York, alleges violations of antitrust and consumer protection laws. It's just the latest challenge to Google and parent company Alphabet on this front, following actions from the U.S. Justice Department, the government of Australia and even a group of small West Virginia weekly papers." Gannett CEO Mike Reed in an op-ed published in the company's national outlet USA Today said Google "has monopolized the markets for important software and technology products that publishers and advertisers use to buy and sell ad space" and that newspapers are gaining little in the $200 billion online ad market. Google strongly denied the claims. "Publishers have many options to choose from when it comes to using advertising technology to monetize," said company advertising VP Dan Taylor. | | |  | Rant and rave | | | Documents show that OpenAI lobbied the E.U. to taper back parts of its AI Act. Bentley University math professor Noah Giansiracusa: | | Mozilla trustworthy AI fellow Abeba Birhane: | | Soccer analytics podcaster Michael Caley: | | |  | Agency scanner | | | |  | Hill happenings | | | |  | Inside the industry | | | |  | Competition watch | | | |  | Privacy monitor | | | |  | Workforce report | | | |  | Daybook | | - Cyberspace and Digital Policy Ambassador Nathaniel Fick speaks at a Hudson Institute event on U.S. tech diplomacy at 9:30 a.m.
- FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel and fellow commissioners testify at a House Energy and Commerce oversight hearing at 10:30 a.m.
- The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation holds a discussion on how AI will impact the global south at 11 a.m.
- Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer unveils his AI regulation framework at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event at 11:15 a.m.
- FTC Chair Lina Khan speaks with the Public Private Strategies Institute at 2 p.m.
- The Brookings Institution holds a discussion on online speech after the SCOTUS Gonzalez vs. Google decision at 2 p.m.
- The Atlantic Council holds an event on trust and safety on the web at 3 p.m.
- The Senate Commerce Committee holds an FCC nomination hearing for commission nominee Anna Gomez and others tomorrow at 10 a.m.
| | |  | Before you log off | | | That's all for today — thank you so much for joining us! Make sure to tell others to subscribe to The Technology 202 here. Get in touch with tips, feedback or greetings on Twitter or email. | |
No comments:
Post a Comment