The Biden Administration recently announced that it is contemplating the possibility of implementing some form of regulations for ChatGPT and other AI tools. However, I believe focusing on AI technology is not a great idea. There should be a focus of laws for all tech. For example, Deep Fakes have been an issue since 2017 and have progressively become better and now voice cloning is an issue; combining the two you can barely tell if the video is fake. I came across a Youtube short that was a deep fake commercial of Joe Rogan about a grant to go back to school. They refuse to let you share the video and it’s being advertised as if it is Joe Rogan.

It’s now easier than ever to clone human voices, and this development has got many cyber experts worried that some Cyber Criminals might use it to imitate top executives in an effort to solicit funds or confidential information from their employees. In a recent story Jennifer DeStefano received a call from an unknown number with her daughter screaming in the background. In reality, her daughter was safe on a ski trip and her voice had been cloned. The criminals wanted one million dollars and then later went down to fifty thousand dollars.

Another great fear is cyberstalking and online harassment, with each state using its own set of laws when it comes to punishing such offenses. Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for this issue yet. Which results in some states allowing criminals to be jailed and even restraining orders; while others tell you to mute, block and report them to the specific platform.

Megan Meier tragically took her own life in 2006 due to cyberbullying from Lori Drew, the parent of one of her former friends. Consequently, charges were made against Drew for Conspiracy, Felony and violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as well as Unauthorized access to computers. Despite being found guilty by a judge, later on the conviction was overturned.

It has been nearly two decades since the 2006 incident of Megan Meier and while technology is ever evolving, there are still no substantial laws in place to govern the internet. People everywhere have become increasingly worried that AI might be used for criminal activities or untruthful information dissemination. Nevertheless, what many people tend to overlook is the potential danger of restricted data availability due to AI systems. Rather than jumping into creating rules governing AI, I believe it would be more beneficial to first create laws addressing the internet itself.