New AI Regulations Are Coming. Is Your Organization Ready?

Over the last few weeks, regulators and lawmakers around the world have made one thing clear: New laws will soon shape how companies use artificial intelligence (AI). In late March, the five largest federal financial regulators in the United States released a request for information on how banks use AI, signaling that new guidance is coming for the finance sector. Just a few weeks after that, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released an uncharacteristically bold set of guidelines on "truth, fairness, and equity" in AI -- defining unfairness, and therefore the illegal use of AI, broadly as any act that "causes more harm than good." The European Commission followed suit on April 21 released its own proposal for the regulation of AI, which includes fines of up to 6% of a company's annual revenues for noncompliance -- fines that are higher than the historic penalties of up to 4% of global turnover that can be levied under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For companies adopting AI, the dilemma is clear: On the one hand, evolving regulatory frameworks on AI will significantly impact their ability to use the technology; on the other, with new laws and proposals still evolving, it can seem like it's not yet clear what companies can and should do.