While many have warned about a lack of preparedness for the societal impact of artificial intelligence (AI), one risk solutions expert warned how criminals are already taking advantage, “and it’s largely going undetected.”
“It is no longer a question of if, but rather when,” government programs will be affected Haywood Talcove contended in an op-ed published by Fox News. The CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ Government laid out the specific ways that criminals could utilize AI jeopardizing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
“Criminals are now using our faces to steal from the government. They’re filing tax returns, submitting unemployment claims; they’re impersonating our voices, faces and identities, and it’s largely going undetected,” Talcove wrote.
“AI, particularly generative AI, poses the greatest risk to the security of our most vital government agencies and entitlement programs that we’ve ever faced,” he continued. “Perhaps this time, our leaders will listen before disaster strikes.”
Adding weight to his claim by asserting he had predicted the massive fraud that would occur under a national emergency like that which happened as COVID-related handouts were swindled by bad actors, Talcove cautioned how “AI could generate synthetic identities matching the profile of legitimate beneficiaries, directing millions of dollars away from deserving recipients.”
Medical claims, fake companies and exploitative tax returns were also listed as ways entitlement programs, government contracts and the tax system could be manipulated.
While the CEO wasn’t entirely gloom and doom, suggesting “the same technology that empowers fraudsters can be harness to protect our systems,” and arguing there are some things AI simply can’t match, the technology has already proven good enough to exploit a concerned mother.
As previously reported, Jennifer DeStefano of Arizona recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law detailing how AI deepfake technology had led her to believe her 15-year-old daughter had been kidnapped in an attempt to extort her out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Mom who fell victim to deepfake kidnapping scam details her ordeal to Congress, warns of AI threat https://t.co/X9DpDyOBg1 via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) June 14, 2023
It wasn’t until someone had gotten her daughter on the phone that DeStefano was certain her child wasn’t in danger as the audio played was able to fake the girl’s inflection as well as her voice. “If left uncontrolled, unguarded and without consequence, it will rewrite our understanding and perception what is and what is not truth. It will erode our sense of ‘familiar’ as it corrodes our confidence in what is real and what is not.”
Even tech entrepreneur Elon Musk warned a pause dubbed an “AI summer” was more than called for to allow society to catch up with advances in the technology as he joined industry experts and thousands of others over the “potentially catastrophic” results that could come from leaving it unchecked.
“Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks, and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth?” the letter asked. “Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?”
Musk, others sign letter calling for a six-month pause on AI program development https://t.co/vWeHDUR3iX pic.twitter.com/DU5ajD1WMB
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) April 2, 2023
“I can’t stress enough that any agency leader not already considering the impact of AI on their fraud detection and prevention systems is likely already falling victim to these types of sophisticated scams,” Talcove wrote.
He concluded in part, “It is no longer a question of if, but rather when and how severely, these AI-powered threats will impact their agencies. We must acknowledge the stark reality that AI fraud is not a distant threat, but one that’s knocking at our door…We need to start thinking of fraud prevention not just as an administrative function, but as a critical aspect of our national security.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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