FCC concerned about political AI robocalls still being a thing

The FCC is concerned about the social dangers of political AI robocalls. Jessica Rosenworcel, president of the agency, sent letters to nine big telecommunications companies. The agency wants to know if companies have a plan to attack these types of calls.

A political AI robocall is a method of deception that seeks to influence the actions of some sectors of the population for political reasons. The bad actors behind these calls turn to AI services to imitate the voices of political figures. Then, they implement them in automated phone calls with prerecorded audio to deliver a fake message. This method can influence current and future electoral processes.

Political AI robocalls have already influenced electoral processes, and the FCC is concerned

In fact, there has already been at least one case of this style. Several voters skipped the New Hampshire Democratic primary due to a hoax related to political AI robocalls. Therefore, it is a worrying situation that requires immediate action. However, it seems that the FCC is not convinced that telecommunications companies are doing enough.

A Rosenworcel’s letter says the following: “We know that AI technologies will make it cheap and easy to flood our networks with deepfakes used to mislead and betray trust. It is especially chilling to see AI voice cloning used to impersonate candidates during elections. As AI tools become more accessible to bad actors and scammers, we need to do everything we can to keep this junk off our networks.”

Up to nine major telecommunications companies, including AT&T and Comcast, received the letter. The agency wants to know what they are doing to stop political AI robocalls. It’s noteworthy that the US government banned all AI robocalls in February. This includes AI robocalls of all kinds, whether political or not. There is even authorization to pursue those involved in these types of calls. So, the FCC wants a breakdown of the strategies that telecoms are carrying out.

Rosenworcel also wants to force companies to warn about the use of AI in TV or radio ads. However, Sean Cooksey, chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), opposes this initiative. Cooksey believes that such a decision would override the authority of the FEC over electoral processes.