Artificial intelligence may be the “most transformational technology” the U.S. Department Of Justice has confronted yet, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said in a speech this week at Oxford University,
“Every new technology is a double-edged sword, but AI may be the sharpest blade yet,” Monaco said. “It has the potential to be an indispensable tool to help identify, disrupt, and deter criminals, terrorists, and hostile nation-states from doing us harm….Yet for all the promise it offers, AI is also accelerating risks to our collective security.”
Monaco said that the DOJ is currently using AI to classify and trace the source of opioids and other drugs, triage tips submitted to the FBI by the public every year, and to synthesize evidence collected in some of their most significant cases — including January 6.
But she also warned that AI is being utilized for more nefarious purposes, such amplifying biases and discrimination, accelerate the creation of harmful content, such as child sexual abuse materials, and be used by nations to pursue “digital authoritarianism.”
“We’ve already seen that AI can lower the barriers to entry for criminals and embolden our adversaries,” Monaco said. “It’s changing how crimes are committed and who commits them — creating new opportunities for wanna-be hackers and supercharging the threat posed by the most sophisticated cybercriminals.”
Monaco said that AI was a particular threat for election security. AI generated incendiary content can quickly radicalize people, and spread misinformation by impersonating trusted sources spreading deepfakes, she said.
“Left without guardrails, AI poses immense challenges for democracies around the world. So, we’re at an inflection point with AI,” Monaco said. “We have to move quickly to identify, leverage, and govern its positive uses while taking measures to minimize its risks.”
She touted an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last October that “establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, and promotes innovation,” and also “charges the Justice Department to anticipate the impact of AI on our criminal justice system, on competition, and on our national security.”
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, AI is being utilized for a very different purpose.
Families of six children or loved ones killed by gun violence have allowed their voices to be re-created utilizing AI, in an effort to get congress to pass legislation mandating the safe storage of guns, the Washington Post reports.
The project was published online this week, exactly six years after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla, and can be accessed at theshotline.org.
Mike Song, who’s son accidentally killed himself with an unsecured weapon at a friend's house, said that he hoped lawmakers hearing his son's voice might move them to take meaningful action.
“This was a heartbreaking thing for us to do” said Song. “But I think this is the kind of thing that wakes people up.”