Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler answers questions during a House Financial Services Committee oversight hearing of the SEC on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter
{beacon}
Technology
Technology
The Big Story
SEC Chair Gensler warns of AI ‘monoculture’ financial risks
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler says a centralized artificial intelligence (AI) market with just a handful of models that financial actors rely on could lead to a fragile financial system.
Gensler, speaking in a virtual fireside chat hosted by Public Citizen, said he expects AI totend toward centralization, likening it to the cloud provider and search engine markets.
“Count up on the fingers of one hand how many cloud providers we have in the U.S., and in even fewer fingers on the hand how many platforms we have to do search, dominant search in this world,” he said.
“I believe it is likely inevitable that we will have, measured on the fingers of one hand, if not two or three, large base models, and separately the data aggregators,” he added.
That pattern wouldcreate a “monoculture,” with hundreds or thousands of financial actors relying on a central data or central choice model, he said.
Gensler said that financial regulators don’t have oversight over the “central nodes” that likely the whole financial sector will be reliant on.
“And if those nodes have it wrong, the monoculture goes one way, well, then there’s a risk in this society and the financial sector at large,” Gensler said.
Alaska Airlines and Boeing were hit with a lawsuit from four passengers who claimed they experienced “havoc, fear, trauma, [and] severe and extreme distress” during a midair blowout aboard a flight earlier this month. The suit, filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state, is seeking damages for personal injuries after a door plug on a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft blew off while an Alaska Airlines flight …
Airbnb is launching an effort to examine how to address the nationwide issue of housing affordability, focusing on increasing the supply and driving down prices. The company announced Wednesday the formation of a new housing council, chaired by former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who was also the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The council will advise the company on partnerships and initiatives …
Google has updated its message for its Chrome “incognito mode” after settling a class-action privacy lawsuit last month that alleged the company collected data from users using the feature. The updated message clarifies that websites and services, including Google, can collect a user’s data, even while browsing in incognito mode. This comes weeks after the company settled a $5 billion privacy lawsuit that accused …
News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
Automakers amp up hybrid car options
Hybrid cars are having a resurgence as some consumers appear reluctant to buy fully electric cars, The New York Times reported.
EU seeks to crack down on AI-generated music
The European Parliament is calling for new rules aimed at promoting transparency about when a streamed song has been generated by artificial intelligence, TechCrunch reported.
The Hill Jobs
Interested in exploring a new career? Visit The Hill Jobs Board to discover millions of roles worldwide, including:
The American Action Forum is hosting an event discussing the future of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) featuring a keynote address from former FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson. The Hill’s Rebecca Klar will moderate a panel focused on assessing the agency.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
Frigid weather can cut electric vehicle range and make charging tough. Here’s what you need to know
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — For nearly a week, frigid temperatures from Chicago to northern Texas have made life painful for electric-vehicle owners, with reduced driving range and hours of waiting at charging stations. In Oak Brook, Illinois, near Chicago, on Monday, television reporters found …
RIO VISTA, Calif. (AP) — The company backed by Silicon Valley billionaires that for years stealthily snapped up more than $800 million worth of rural land for a new walkable, affordable and green city between San Francisco and Sacramento now needs voters to embrace the idea. Jan Sramek, the former …
Former President Trump said the federal judge overseeing his defamation case with writer E. Jean Carroll was “abusive” for not delaying the trial so … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine judge on Wednesday put on hold a decision on former President Donald Trump’s ballot status to allow time for the U.S. … Read more
