AI-faked calls banned
FCC, citing ‘misinformation,’ nixes robo-use of cloned voices
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday unanimously banned the use of AI-generated voice-cloning technology in robocalls, effective immediately.
Thursday’s ruling — which targets scammers leading up to the 2024 election — cites the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act restricting junk calls using conventional artificial and prerecorded voice messages.
The FCC is now empowered to fine companies utilizing AI voices and punish service providers facilitating those calls. The newly invoked regulation also makes suing companies that use AI-generated voices easier for individuals and state attorneys.
Companies that don’t abide by Thursday’s mandate can be fined up to $23,000 per call, while people targeted by such calls can sue for up to $1,500 per incident.
Federal regulators said Tuesday they were working with New Hampshire prosecutors to stop a Texas-based company from using fake calls to “spread misinformation to voters, using deepfake voice technology and fake phone numbers to encourage them not to vote.”
Residents of that state, which hosted the nation’s first primary last month, reported receiving AI-generated calls discouraging voters from heading to the polls on Jan. 23 by using a voice impersonating President Biden.
Regulating the use of AI in political campaigns has been met with bipartisan support in Congress, but no legislation has been passed to address the issue.
Despite Thursday’s action by the FCC, Aspen Institute Director of AI and Democracy Josh Lawson told The Associated Press that Americans won’t be completely protected from bad actors.
“The true dark hats tend to disregard the stakes, and they know what they’re doing is unlawful,” he said.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel warned last week that no one’s truly safe from artificially made calls.
“No matter what celebrity or politician you favor, or what your relationship is with your kin when they call for help, it is possible we could all be a target of these faked calls,” she said before the FCC made fake AI-generated calls illegal.
The Olympic medals at the Paris 2024 Games will include pieces of the Eiffel Tower.
The historic touch was announced by organizers on Thursday. And the Eiffel Tower pieces are not tiny or hidden — they form the centerpieces of the medals.
Because the Eiffel Tower has been refurbished and restored several times over the years, original iron pieces of the structure have been removed and stored by the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. Paris 2024 organizers kept that in mind when designing the medals.
“The concept came after a few discussions. We realized that there’s one symbol known across the world, which is the Eiffel Tower,” head designer Joachim Roncin said. “We said to ourselves, ‘Hey, what if we approached the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. to see if it’s possible to get a bit of the Eiffel Tower to integrate into the medal?’ ”
The result is a hexagonal centerpiece on the front of the medals. The original Eiffel Tower iron pieces, each weighing about 18 grams, were polished to remove their “Eiffel Tower brown” paint and set in the medal with six small clasps.
Disks of gold, silver and bronze surround the central Eiffel Tower hexagon. The reverse side shows Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. All Olympic medals have displayed Nike on one side since 1928. This year’s medals also depict the Parthenon and the Eiffel Tower on the back.
“Having a gold medal is already something incredible. But we wanted to add this French touch, and we thought that the Eiffel Tower would be this cherry on the top,” Roncin said. “Having a piece of it is a piece of history.”
All medals for the 2024 Paralympics, which follow about two weeks after the Olympics conclude, will also have a piece of the Eiffel Tower in them.
The reverse side of the Paralympic medals shows the Eiffel Tower as if someone was looking up at the structure from underneath. Additionally, the words “Paris 2024” are written in Braille, which was invented by Frenchman Louis Braille.
The Paris Olympics will begin July 26 and end Aug. 11. The Paralympics will begin Aug. 28 and end Sept. 8.