From warning to action: AI regulations takes centre stage!

Published: July 24, 2023

min read

A surge in the use of generative AI tools across the industry for a variety of purposes, from drafting human-like text to churning out compelling images, has piqued public interest as well as concern about their capacity to deceive people and spread misinformation, among other risks.

To address the growing fear over the misuse of AI technologies and the regulation, President Joe Biden has already conducted a White House summit in May, which a number of technology executives attended. It was at this point that the administration reminded the industry that it was accountable for ensuring the safety of its technology.

Following Biden's warning, seven leading artificial intelligence firms have recently announced plans to unveil new voluntary safeguards designed to minimise abuse and prejudice within the emerging technology at a White House event on Friday.

Some of the executives who attended Friday's event at the White House and are committing to a transparency and security pledge are from Alphabet Inc. Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI.

Under the deal, these companies plan to put brand-new artificial intelligence systems through internal and external testing before releasing them, and will seek out outside teams to look for security flaws, discriminatory tendencies, or risks to Americans' rights, health information, or safety.

The companies, which include Anthropic and Inflection AI, additionally announced fresh pledges to share information with governments, civil society, and scholars in order to improve risk mitigation and to report vulnerabilities as they emerge. Leading AI companies are going to include virtual watermarks in the content they create, providing a way to differentiate between real images and videos and those generated by computers.

According to White House officials, the pledge helps reconcile the promise of artificial intelligence with the hazards, and it is the outcome of months of extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying.

What does the news signal to brands?

The phenomenal potential of generative AI tools is indeed reshaping the way businesses operate and making all aspects of business easier in various ways. Particularly, it has been a huge helping hand for marketing teams and is making a meaningful transformation in the advertising industry.

Meanwhile, due to the lack of regulation in this space, several brands in the market are still hesitating to use it so as to avoid the potential risks and harms associated with AI usage.

Though, in recent months, we have noticed louder calls for regulation in the industry, the new voluntary safeguards pledge taken by renowned companies is definitely a step forward and is something other brands must pay attention to.

Regulatory bodies, investors, and stakeholders worldwide are already closely monitoring AI usage in the industry and paying close attention to its negative implications. At this point, as tech giants such as Amazon, Meta, etc. are taking proactive steps towards it, it may lead other brands and marketing teams to face increasing pressure from all sides to follow in their footsteps and prioritise ethical and safe AI practises.
In recent years, internet users have become excessively conscious of their data privacy. While tech-savvy consumers embrace the innovations around AI, when they see that leading companies are taking substantial moves to secure their data and assure responsible AI usage, they will be more likely to support this approach. As a result, they may begin to demand equivalent safeguard measures from other brands, which in turn will put brands under greater scrutiny and force them to take action quickly so as to meet their customer demands in the first place.
In order to implement robust AI safeguards, brands might need to consider making new collaborations with other companies, AI specialists, etc. Consequently, it may require them to re-evaluate their budget priorities and resource allocation so that brands will be able to implement effective AI safeguards and meet customers’ demands.

Building trust with customers is crucial for any brand to survive in this competitive digital world. At this point, when brands embrace and implement robust AI safeguards earlier, it will help them showcase their commitment to protecting their users' data for audiences. It, in turn, will significantly help brands boost their reputation and trust with their customers, which can result in increased loyalty and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

Overall, the unveiling of AI safeguards by big heads in the industry is definitely a step towards building a more ethical and secure AI ecosystem. At the same time, this streamlining phase will more likely to cause major changes in the approach to AI usage for all other brands, which they should be prepared to face and adopt to stay ahead of the curve.

Author

Pete Johnson

Pete is a MarTech expert guru with a knack for getting diverse MarTech solutions work for brands. He has a wealth of experience in working with a plethora of MarTech platforms that dive Personalized Omnichannel Experiences. When he's not at work, you can find him playing basketball or listening to jazz.