US president Joe Biden used the State of the Union address on Thursday to call for a ban on AI voice impersonation.

The president stated that although he’d signed more than 400 bipartisan bills, he still had more to do, including harnessing “the promise of AI and protect us from its peril. Ban AI voice impersonation and more!”

Biden offered no further detail.

It’s unclear if the president was referencing an existing ban on robocalls or new legislation altogether.

“The nature of a State of the Union is to put focus on those issues the administration will address in the coming year from a policy perspective and, in a presidential election year, a political one,” APAC Advisors CEO Steven Okun, who served in the Clinton administration, told The Register.

“Responsible AI making the speech at all highlights the resonance of this issue, teeing it up to be one area of bipartisan action in an otherwise hyper-partisan environment,” he added.

The promises about AI were one among myriad pledges and accolades for term achievements.

Among those achievements was 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorizes substantial funding for various infrastructure projects across the country, including increasing broadband.

“Providing affordable high-speed internet for every American no matter where you live!” exclaimed Biden, tallying accomplishments.

The discontinuation of the the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program next month is not very helpful to the low-cost, coast-to-cast high speed broadband ambition.

Biden also cheered the addition of 800,000 manufacturing jobs in America. “Where is it written we can’t be the manufacturing capital of the world? We are – we will,” ad-libbed the president.

Biden claimed his administration’s Chips and Science Act had sparked the United States to invest more in research and development than ever before.

“During the pandemic a shortage of semiconductor chips drove up prices for everything from cell phones to automobiles,” stated Biden. “Well, instead of having to import semiconductor chips, which America invented, I might add, private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America!”

The $52 billion program to boost the US semiconductor industry includes $39 billion of manufacturing incentives for companies building chip factories in the States.

Micron, which is among the companies receiving related federal grants and tax incentives, has stated the fundibng is necessary for the development of its already announced chip fabs in Idaho and New York.

The incentives do come with stipulations, however, including that chipmakers refrain from engaging in collaboration with or licensing products to manufacturers in China for a decade.

As for the Middle Kingdom, Biden claimed in one breath to have secured the most advanced American technologies from being used in Chinese weapons, and in the next that the US wants competition with China, not conflict.

“And we’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China or anyone else for that matter,” he commented. ®

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• Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/03/09/biden_2024_sotu/