The Federal Communications Commission proposed new rules this week that would require robocallers to disclose if they use artificial intelligence in their calls and text messages.
The proposal builds on the FCC’s ban on AI-based robocalls without the express prior consent of the person on the other end of the call. The FCC wrote that it wants to require companies to tell callers if they plan to use AI in future calls or messages when asking for consent. Similar disclosures would be required because AI-based phone calls “pose increased risks, including fraud,” according to the FCC.
The regulator proposes to define “AI-generated calls” as calls that use technology that “uses computational techniques, such as predictive algorithms and large-scale language models or other machine learning to create artificial or pre-recorded voice or text that processes natural language and generates voice or text content to communicate with the called party on an outbound call.”
Finally, the FCC wants to create an exception for people with speech or hearing disabilities who use AI-generated voice software to help them communicate when making outgoing calls. The FCC also plans to require that such calls be free of “unsolicited advertising” and that the recipient of the call is not charged for the call. The FCC asked for specific comments on whether scammers could exploit this exception and how the rules could be updated to prevent it.
