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There is no question that artificial intelligence (AI) is a tool that can fool millions of people. From “deepfake” images to robo-scams, there are already things out there that are making people flee. Is there anything you can do to protect yourself from robot theft?
Government agencies have been woefully slow in addressing this threat. I recently attended a panel discussion in Washington exploring concerns about AI. The only solid conclusion I have is that AI fraud will focus on older Americans.
“Seniors are going to be the target,” Rohit Chopra, executive director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), said at a recent conference. “We are in a period of caution because the damage is very real.”
Chopra pointed out that AI is already being used in customer service “chatbots”, although “it’s not intuitive to see a human talking to a robot”.
The dangers of AI aren’t just affecting some lawmakers. “As AI evolves and becomes more pervasive and sophisticated, malicious parties will use ‘spoof speech’ and other techniques to exploit it,” Sen. Jack Reed (DR.I.) said in a statement. I’m trying to do that.” It is important that people become educated and be wary of these scams. The FTC and CFPB need to take action to stop this type of fraud. ”
Given the dysfunctional leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, it seems unlikely that we will see any federal protections for AI in the near future. In the meantime, we need to be careful to spot common AI deceptions highlighted in his recent CFPB report.
- Financial institutions are increasingly using chatbots as a cost-effective alternative to human customer service. Our research found that each of the top 10 commercial banks has implemented chatbots as a component of customer service. As chatbot technology has evolved, so has banks’ use of the technology. Banks are moving away from simple rules-based chatbots to more advanced technologies, such as large-scale language models (“LLMs”) and what is marketed as “artificial intelligence.”
- Chatbots may be helpful in resolving basic inquiries, but their effectiveness diminishes as the problem becomes more complex. A review of consumer complaints and the current market reveals that some people are experiencing significant negative consequences due to technical limitations in chatbot functionality. For customers, there are many types of negative consequences, including wasted time, feeling stuck and frustrated, receiving inaccurate information, and paying additional junk fees.
- When financial institutions implement chatbot technology, they risk violating legal obligations, undermining customer trust, and harming consumers. Chatbots, as well as the processes they replace, must comply with all applicable federal consumer financial laws, and failure to do so may subject businesses to liability for violating these laws. Chatbots can also pose certain privacy and security risks.
Bottom line: Be careful. If you need to resolve an issue, try calling a live representative. Most large companies still have customer service lines. It may not be ideal, but it’s a good starting point.
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