Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to Host Virtual Tech Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Office of Technology will host a Virtual Tech Summit on January 25, 2024, in order to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss key developments in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence (AI) and look at the layers of technology related to AI, according to a press release from the FTC. The half-day Virtual Tech Summit focused on artificial intelligence will be held from 12:00 p.m. Noon to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on January 25, 2024. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan and Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya will provide remarks at the summit. The event will also feature panel discussions on the following topics:

• The hardware and other key infrastructure that will be needed for AI development;
• Issues related to the data and models used in AI; and
• AI-powered consumer applications.

“We are in a pivotal, all-hands-on-deck moment where innovative technologies—like the rise of large language models and generative AI—are rapidly being developed and deployed, and are changing the way we work, live, and communicate,” the FTC explains on the Virtual Tech Summit event web page, which includes more information about the event. “There’s profound potential and opportunity in how these tools can augment our lives—and with millions of use cases, we are seeing the scope of what is possible in a range of fields. However, there are also potential risks and harms: AI may turbocharge fraud, scams, and other misuse,” the page states. The event is online, open to the public, and registration is not required. In December 2023, the FTC – which protects the public from deceptive or unfair business practices – banned a retailer from using AI facial recognition for five years after claiming the retailer deployed the technology without reasonable safeguards, According to the filed complaint, the FTC claimed the retailer used AI to identify customers suspected of shoplifting. The FTC claimed the retailer  – which operates thousands of retail pharmacy locations – failed to take reasonable measures to prevent harm to consumers who were erroneously accused by employees of wrongdoing because facial recognition technology falsely flagged the consumers as matching someone who had previously been identified as a shoplifter. The proposed order from the FTC also filed in December 2023 will require the retailer to implement safeguards to prevent these types of harm to consumers when deploying automated systems that use biometric information to track them or flag them as security risks and discontinue using any such technology if it cannot control potential risks to consumers. ClearStar is a leading global Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. The use of AI by employers coming under government scrutiny was one of the “2023 Top Trends in Workforce Screening” researched and compiled in a white paper by ClearStar. To learn more, contact ClearStar. © 2024 ClearStar. All rights reserved. – Making copies of or using any part of the ClearStar website for any purpose is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ClearStar. ClearStar does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.

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