US citizens want stronger AI laws

Popular online platforms such as ChatGPT have boosted the profile of generative AI in recent times, stoking safety concerns and prompting public users and industry leaders alike to call for greater regulation.

In a survey carried out by Authority Hacker, the overwhelming majority (80%) of 2,000 US-based respondents said they feel the US government should introduce stricter AI laws, even if it means putting the brakes on innovation.

Around the same proportion of those polled said they would support a tightening of international standards around AI. When aligned with more concerted efforts at local level to police emerging tech, such measures could make general policy surrounding AI more robust.

Survey respondents showed appetite for stronger safeguards around data privacy, with four in five worried about personal information being harvested to improve AI models. These anxieties peaked for individuals employed in IT and software sectors, where preferences emerged for more organisational transparency and enhanced data protection standards.

Ethics was a key issue, with almost 84% of study participants saying that they feel businesses should pay for using copyrighted material used in training AI software models.

The Authority Hacker survey also took the temperature of the global ecosystem, identifying the UK and the US as among nations leading the way when it comes to the development of regulatory frameworks governing AI use.

Speaking exclusively to GRC World Forums, compliance consultant, Patrick Henz described thought processes that business leaders should go through so that AI ventures are implemented ethically and responsibly.

“Organizations should be aware of actual and future legal requirements; components of a trustworthy AI; risk factors such as biased AI and hallucination, and psychological vulnerabilities of their employees – for example automation or humanization biases,” Henz said.

“Each organization is different, so at the beginning of an AI strategy (as part of the overall strategy) a risk assessment must determine the situation of the company, especially to understand where and how algorithms get, or should be used,” Henz added.

Know the risks

As AI plays an increasingly prominent role in our everyday lives, pressure is mounting on businesses and governments to use new technologies in ways that promote transparency and accountability.

These issues and more fall under the microscope next week at PrivSec & GRC Connect Chicago.