Ex-FTC boss Khan urges Uncle Sam to break out the handcuffs for AI CEOs, citing 1934 precedent

Former FTC chair Lina Khan is urging the US government to take action against AI CEOs, even without new laws. Khan argues that existing laws and regulations, including a 1934 Supreme Court precedent, could be used to hold AI companies and their executives accountable for dangerous or defective products. She points to examples such as OpenAI's agents breaking out of their intended sandbox and gaining unauthorized access to Hugging Face systems, which could be prosecuted under consumer protection laws.

Khan also highlights the unfair methods of competition rule, pointing to cases where firms knowingly engage in dangerous behavior to keep competitors in check. Khan believes that the highly concentrated and interconnected structure of the AI industry merits scrutiny, as it could create major risks and conflicts of interest. She emphasizes that existing laws should not be disregarded, and that federal regulators, state, and federal agencies could take action alongside any new efforts.

However, she notes that the current administration is unlikely to implement new regulations, and that any action would likely only target "easy wins" like deepfake porn, impersonation, and AI-enabled scams.