US government makes AI-generated phone calls illegal after the Joe Biden fiasco

Robocallers have been a problem for many years now, with some individuals receiving more calls than others. But with the power of artificial intelligence (AI), the frequency of these calls has increased and seemingly reached its boiling point when an AI-powered robocaller imitated President Joe Biden.

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These robocalls are likely familiar to everyone who owns a phone, and with the exponentially increasing power of AI-powered tools, scammers are becoming more and more creative in devising ways to scam individuals out of their hard-earned dollars.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is aware of this issue and was pushed to action when an AI-generated robocall imitating President Joe Biden made headlines as the voice on the end of the line was telling New Hampshire Democrats not to vote for Biden in the upcoming presidential primary.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed the commission should recognize that any calls made with AI-generated voices as "artificial", which under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is illegal. The proposal was met with support from all members of the commission as it received a unanimous vote to formally make AI robocalls illegal.

"Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities, and misinform voters. We're putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice. State Attorneys General will now have new tools to crack down on these scams and ensure the public is protected from fraud and misinformation," said Chairwoman Rosenworcel