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PHOENIX - An Arizona mother testified to the U.S. Senate on the dangers of artificial intelligence.
As AI evolves and gets smarter, Congress is aware of how it can threaten Americans
Sitting front and center in front of lawmakers was a Scottsdale woman who voiced her trauma to the Senate’s subcommittee hearing on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights.
Her experience is chilling and is a reminder of parenting realities in America.
"The sound of a loved one’s voice is often never authenticated. It is a unique identity as unique as a fingerprint," Jennifer DeStefano said.
She's a mother – and a mother knows her child’s voice.
Jennifer DeStefano
READ MORE: Voice-cloning AI scams on the rise: Arizona AG & ASU Professor send warning
On Jan. 20, she had no doubt it was her daughter on the phone after picking up a call from an unknown number.
"It was Briana sobbing and crying saying ‘mom.' At first,, I thought nothing of it and casually asked her ‘what happened?’" DeStefano said.
It wasn’t Briana, but at that moment, she was convinced her child was in danger.
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AI kidnapping scam targets Arizona mother
MORE: ChatGPT's chief says AI should be regulated by a US or global agency
"A threatening and vulgar man took the call over. ‘Listen here. I have your daughter. You call anybody, you call the police, I’m gonna pump her stomach so full of drugs. I’m gonna have my way with her. I’m gonna drop her in Mexico. You’ll never see your daughter again,'" DeStefano recalled from the phone call.
The man on the phone demanded a million dollars, she says.
It was a kidnapping scam, fabricating the voice of her daughter.
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Voice-cloning AI scams on the rise
The Arizona Attorney General has a warning about artificial intelligence as people are using the technology to clone voices, tricking someone into thinking a loved one is on the phone and needs money.
On June 13, lawmakers listened to experts on AI technology, including the CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology.
They discussed real world harm to human rights, asking the Biden administration to take action quickly.
"At a time when many are discussing the existential risks of AI, there are concrete issues at which Congress and the executive branch can act right now," said Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology.
They also discussed the FBI's warning about a rise in sextortion cases in which criminals use AI technology to create sexually explicate images to target victims.