Eye on AI

It won’t be long before AI gives us new tools not just to speed up, but also personalize and tailor communications to individuals where once we could only speak to groups. How will you decide if you should use these tools, and if so how much? What rules should guide your company? 

Technology allows for new ways of communicating but also brings new risks – we all saw companies that got into trouble rolling out layoffs or major strategic changes to employees over video calls that got recorded and leaked to the public. 

What would your employees say if they learned  a layoff announcement was generated by a machine? What would your customers say if they learned you were generating content using AI models optimized for particular demographic or partisan subgroups?

Adopting these systems isn’t just a technology question for the CTO, or an efficiency and profitability question for the CFO. These are reputational questions that fall squarely on our shoulders. What are your values? How do they inform the choices you will make around AI? What is the process you will go through to make those choices – and then to defend them if you are ever challenged in the future? 

We’re certainly thinking a lot about this in our work at FGS. As a core principle, AI should be used to inform and enhance our work, never to replace human analysis, judgment and review. We expect employees to adhere to the following requirements:

• Confidentiality: Employees are strictly prohibited from entering confidential or sensitive client or firm information into ChatGPT or any other generative AI technology. 

• Accuracy: Everyone must independently fact check anything produced by ChatGPT or any other generative AI technology, which frequently produce errors and inaccuracies. 

• Transparency: All staff must disclose to account leads the use of any generative technology in the creation of a specific work product.

The rapid emergence of Generative AI has become a top focus for Congress and the Biden administration. Here is what to expect in Washington over the coming months as the debate over how to regulate artificial intelligence evolves: 

Congress:

• Policymakers are continuing to focus efforts on gathering information so expect to see a steady cadence of briefings, hearings and initial policy proposals.

• While the prospect for comprehensive AI legislation is uncertain, we anticipate AI-related provisions might be included in larger pieces of legislation addressing privacy, national security and China, among others.

Biden Administration:

• Federal departments and agencies overseeing science, technology, telecom and even the Food and Drug Administration will continue rolling out AI related announcements, guidance and policy recommendations following the close of several open comment periods this summer.

Industry:

• Key industry stakeholders are increasing the pressure on policymakers to act on AI through trade associations and new industry-specific coalitions beginning to form.

• We expect Big Tech to resist reforms that might limit their businesses, such as tightening copyright and IP protections.

Ultimately, while Republicans and Democrats agree on the need to dig deeper and become far more expert on the issue, finding consensus on what additional regulation might entail will take time. In the short-term, look for the courts to resolve many of the questions revolving around generative AI, including those related to potential infringements on IP and copyright law.

Following the debt deal, Congressional attention has shifted to other must pass legislation this year: the farm bill. The price tag for the farm bill, which authorizes a range of agriculture, conservation, nutrition and rural development programs, is expected to top $1 trillion this year.  

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke about the farm bill on the Senate floor, forecasting both urgency and bipartisanship behind the effort, as battle lines emerge on key issues like feeding and climate programs:

• The debt deal adjusted exemptions and work requirements for some recipients of economic support programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and it is possible these changes will be revisited. House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson (R-PA) has not ruled out further discussions on this topic, but Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has said she considers the discussion closed.

• The farm bill may be the only bill with climate resources to pass this Congress. While some Republican lawmakers have recently voiced interest in rescinding or redirecting climate focused funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) via the farm bill, Democratic policymakers have made clear that preserving that funding is a key priority.

What’s next: The first public drafts of the farm bill and the accompanying Congressional markups are expected later this fall.