Consumer product regulators’ AI pilot bill clears House

Federal consumer product regulators may soon have more artificial intelligence tools at their disposal after the House on Monday passed a bill to launch an AI pilot at their independent agency.

The Consumer Safety Technology Act would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a pilot program that leverages AI in at least one of the following areas: tracking product injury trends, identifying hazards, monitoring recalls or pinpointing which products are not meeting importation standards.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., who introduced the legislation in March, said the bill aims to level the playing field between bad actors and federal enforcement.  

“The reality is, the crooks are already using AI. The cops on the beat need to be able to use this, too,” he said, adding that the emerging technology should “help make the CPSC more efficient.”

The bill directs the agency to consult a variety of stakeholders on its AI pilot, including cybersecurity experts, technologists, data scientists, machine-learning specialists, retailers, consumer product safety groups and manufacturers, among others.

Within a year of the conclusion of the AI pilot, the CPSC would have to submit a report to Congress on its findings, “including the extent to which the use of artificial intelligence improved the ability of the Commission to advance the consumer product safety mission,” per the bill text.

House lawmakers said they also had consumer product safety in mind with the second part of Soto’s bill, which calls on the Commerce Department, the Federal Trade Commission and other relevant agencies to study blockchain technologies for “consumer protection purposes,” according to the legislation. 

A report from Commerce and the FTC would zero in on how blockchain technology could protect consumers by thwarting fraud attempts or other unfair practices. It will cover trends and assess risks and benefits in using blockchain to prevent fraud. Public-private partnerships in blockchain would also be explored.

The agencies’ report would be delivered to Congress within six months of the completion of the study and include recommendations on how the government can use the technology to better protect consumers and promote innovation.

“Technologies such as AI and blockchain are revolutionizing the private sector with improvements in efficiency, security and transparency,” said Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, chair of House & Energy and Commerce energy subcommittee. “We need to make sure the federal government is reaping the same benefits and using technology to its advantage.”