How an AI Hotline Could Help AGs Effectively Govern AI
Like every new technology, artificial intelligence has the potential to solve problems as well as to create them. This puts policymakers in a tough spot. Hastily passed laws may become an unintended barrier to realizing some of AI’s best use cases, yet the absence of timely regulations could expose consumers to fraud, scams, and abuse with few remedies.
Compounding the challenge: like every new commercial market, the AI market includes both good and bad actors. AI companies have already faced allegations of exaggerating the accuracy of their tools, advertising capabilities that don’t exist, or promising results that are unachievable. Yet we also know that there’s a growing number of AI companies that are working around the clock to offer the most dependable and transformative AI tools possible.
The Role of State Attorneys General
How to separate the two is no easy task, and it’s especially difficult for state attorneys general, who are tasked with enforcing consumer protection laws and are thus not afforded the benefit of sitting on the sidelines and merely hoping a new technology works as intended.
Thankfully, there’s a tried-and-true tactic to aid with this difficult enforcement task, which, if expanded and built out nationwide, could help enforcers better grapple with the ever-shifting AI landscape: asking consumers for more specific and timely information about how they are using AI and to what ends — good, bad, and otherwise.
Proposed AI Hotline
In practice, this would look like creating a dedicated consumer complaint portal online that could serve as a one-stop shop for consumers to share their experiences with different AI companies and tools. An AI hotline of this sort would enable enhanced information collection and reduce the odds of state AGs paternalistically imposing their own views about whether a certain AI use case is good or bad or prematurely labeling certain business practices as unfair, deceptive, or abusive.
Using feedback to target bad actors without burdening innovators is crucial. A dedicated AI hotline can partially fill three information gaps.
Identifying Bad Actors
There’s the obvious gap of identifying bad AI actors and bad AI use cases as soon as possible. Consumers will always be the first to experience when AI goes wrong or an AI company relies on anti-competitive behavior. At this early stage in AI development and adoption, it’s pivotal that consumers accurately and promptly share this information.
There’s another potential gap between what appears in news headlines and the actual lived experience of consumers day-to-day. Governance should not be steered by sensationalistic and unrepresentative stories, such as highly questionable reports about AI water usage.
A Balanced Approach
An AI hotline won’t entirely meet that need — the people most likely to share their AI experiences may not reflect the general public. Still, some information is better than none. This hotline also need not solely be a place to complain. A well-designed AI hotline — one that actively solicits positive and neutral feedback, not just complaints — can help mitigate this skew and provide a more balanced picture.
The Importance of a Dedicated Hotline
This is precisely why a standalone AI hotline is merited. Though there are other state and federal hotlines, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mechanism for filing complaints about financial services and products, there are a few flaws with merely trying to tack on an AI extension to a pre-existing tool.
First, it’s important that AI-specific information be collected in as precise a manner as possible and shared with the appropriate actors in a timely fashion. Given that AI regulation is top of mind for legislators and regulators, it’s important to have an AI-specific line.
Second, it’s key that people are fully aware of this mechanism for sharing AI information. If AI becomes one of several technologies covered by a hotline, it may be harder for people to find the right forum.
Fostering Trust and Competition
Consumer protection initiatives like this AI hotline proposal and the desire to maintain competitive markets are too frequently pitted against each other. The truth of the matter is that all this information can foster innovation. The sooner bad actors are held accountable by state AGs for their behavior, the easier it will be for responsible and innovative AI companies to compete on a level playing field.
This information can also become a bulwark against hasty or unnecessary laws that can impede economic growth. Ideally, this hotline would be a unified effort by all 50 states — potentially housed under the auspices of the National Association of Attorneys General.
This collaborative approach would help increase consumer awareness of the tool, ensure standardized submissions, and generate a more complete understanding of consumer experiences. This information can then be shared with and analyzed by other AI stakeholders.
Conclusion
This hotline is not about punishment or panic — it’s about building a fuller picture of how AI is shaping people’s lives. By inviting the public to share their stories in a targeted manner, we can make smarter, faster, and fairer decisions. This sort of initiative is overdue. However, it’s important to ensure that all submissions are vetted to reduce the odds of fake reports. But now is not the time to get bogged down by details. It’s the time for action.
