Consumer product regulators would get AI assist from House bill

The Consumer Product Safety Commission would get an artificial intelligence-fueled boost to its work under a new House bill that advanced out of committee Tuesday.

The Consumer Safety Technology Act cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee after Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., reintroduced the legislation this week. The bill passed the lower chamber last year but stalled out in the Senate. 

Soto said the bill, which directs the CPSC to create a pilot program to study the use of AI and how it can support the agency’s mission, is “all about … the future of consumer safety technology.”

“The whole point is, look, the crooks already have artificial intelligence, so the cops on the beat need to have AI, too,” he said. 

In an internet overrun with vendors hawking their wares, the bill seeks to put AI tools in regulators’ hands to help guide them as they look “to prevent dangerous products from getting on the market or staying on the market,” Soto said.

The pilot program would require the commission to use AI to track trends on consumer product injuries, identify consumer product hazards, monitor the retail marketplace for the selling of recalled products, and/or flag products barred by customs laws. 

The legislation says the CPSC should consult technologists, data scientists, experts in AI and cybersecurity, retailers, manufacturers and consumer product safety organizations as part of the pilot, delivering a report to Congress on their findings within a year of its establishment. 

The second part of Soto’s bill directs the Commerce secretary and the Federal Trade Commission to study and report to Congress on the use of blockchain technology and tokens.

The legislation would enable the FTC “to advance innovation and protect consumers,” Soto said, “and it’s a great way to make sure to have integrity of information going forward.”