Here's how Washington is racing to get a grasp on AI technology

The rapid rise of ChatGPT and influx of artificial intelligence (AI) competitors is leaving the federal government grappling with a range of concerns from the spread of misinformation and a changing workforce, to risks of inherent bias in the technology.  Lawmakers and regulators are looking to take a unified approach to tackle the rising concerns. The big picture: The AI arms race is on. Are regulators ready? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) put out a joint statement Tuesday pledging to enforce existing laws that aim to uphold fairness and justice as AI is increasingly used across a range of services from housing to healthcare.  The issues range from enforcing existing laws that aim to address discrimination that could arise as AI is deployed more broadly, to weighing new regulations that set the rules of the road.  “We have come together to make clear that the use of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, must be consistent with federal laws,” said Charlotte A. Burrows, chair of the EEOC.  The agencies’ joint announcement focused largely on automated systems using AI, rather than the generative AI powered chatbots like ChatGPT.  Even so, ChatGPT’s skyrocketing popularity, the emergence of a rival tool from Google and other companies getting into the industry — including a new venture from Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk — underscore the time crunch for policymakers. The two key issues of…Here's how Washington is racing to get a grasp on AI technology