Law Enforcement Must Keep Up with AI as Criminals Exploit Tech: House Hearing
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being exploited by criminals and law enforcement must act to keep up.
That’s what a panel of tech experts told lawmakers before a House Judiciary subcommittee, as it held a hearing on how criminals are exploiting AI and what law enforcement can do in response.
“The future of crime will be defined by AI,” said witness Ari Redbord, a former federal prosecutor and head of policy for TRM Labs, a company that uses data analytics to help financial institutions and governments fight financial crime. Redbord also warned that as AI products become cheaper and more user friendly, “The volume of attacks and their complexity will increase exponentially.”
Criminals are already using AI for all sorts of crimes including identity theft, fraud, exploitation of children, and extortion using deepfake pornography.
“One of the most immediate changes is how generative AI lowers the barrier to learning, executing, and scaling cybercrime and fraud,” said Zara Perumal, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Overwatch Data.
Andrew Bowne, lecturer at The George Washington University School of Law said that AI, “accelerates traditional processes but also creates entirely new ones. When the task AI is used for is criminal or harmful, the nature of AI becomes a threat multiplier.”
How Law Enforcement Can Keep Up
Given this playing field, lawmakers sought answers on how policy and law enforcement can keep up.
One way to do that is through a “comprehensive legislative framework that both regulates AI development and deployment and protects potential victims,” stated Bowne.
But Redbord cautioned that a ban is not the answer.
“We must stay a step ahead of illicit actors by leveraging the same innovations they use for bad, for good,” said Rebord.
Redbord also emphasized the necessity to empower law enforcement professionals with access to technology tools and training to use them, to keep up with criminals.
AI Regulation
This comes after a provision that would have banned states from regulating AI for ten years was scrapped from the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
And President Trump also released an AI Action Plan with the goal of turning the U.S. into an AI-powerhouse by focusing on accelerating innovation, building out AI infrastructure in the United States, and making American hardware and software the “standard” platform for AI innovations built around the world.