An impending Supreme Court ruling focusing on whether legal protections given to Big Tech extend to their algorithms and recommendation features could have significant implications for future cases surrounding artificial intelligence, according to experts.
In late February, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments examining the extent of legal immunity given to tech companies that allow third-party users to publish content on their platforms.
One of two cases, Gonzalez v. Google, focuses on recommendations and algorithms used by sites like YouTube, allowing accounts to arrange and promote content to users.
MEET THE 72-YEAR-OLD CONGRESSMAN GOING BACK TO COLLEGE TO LEARN ABOUT AI
Section 230, which allows online platforms significant leeway regarding responsibility for users' speech, has been challenged multiple times in the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen studying abroad in France, was killed by ISIS terrorists who fired into a crowded bistro in Paris in 2015. Her family filed suit against Google, arguing that YouTube, which Google owns, aided and abetted the ISIS terrorists by allowing and promoting ISIS material on the platform with algorithms that helped to recruit ISIS radicals.
Marcus Fernandez, an attorney and co-owner of KFB Law, said the outcome of the case could have "far-reaching implications" for tech companies, noting it remains to be seen whether the decision will establish new legal protections for content or if it will open up more avenues for lawsuits against tech companies.
He added that it is important to remember that the ruling could determine the level of protection given to companies and how courts could interpret such protections when it comes to AI-generated content and algorithmic recommendations.
"The decision is likely to be a landmark one, as it will help define what kind of legal liability companies can expect when they use algorithms to target their users with recommendations, as well as what kind of content and recommendations are protected. In addition to this, it will also set precedent for how courts deal with AI-generated content," he said.
According to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, tech companies are immune to lawsuits based on content curated or posted by platform users. Much of the discussion from the justices in February waded into whether the posted content was a form of free speech and questioned the extent to which recommendations or algorithms played a role in promoting the content.
AI PAUSE CEDES POWER TO CHINA, HARMS DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRATIC AI, EXPERTS WARN SENATE
Artificial Intelligence words are seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
At one point, the plaintiff's attorney, Eric Schnapper, detailed how YouTube presents thumbnail images and links to various online videos. He argued that while users create the content itself, the thumbnails and links are joint creations of the user and YouTube, thereby exceeding the scope of YouTube's legal protections.
Google attorney Lisa Blatt said the argument was inadmissible because it was not a part of the plaintiff's original complaint filed to the court.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed concern that such a perspective would create a "world of lawsuits." Throughout the proceedings, she remained skeptical that a tech company should be liable for such speech.
Attorney Joshua Lastine, the owner of Lastine Entertainment Law, told Fox News Digital he would be "very surprised" if the justices found some "nexus" between what the algorithms generate and push onto users and other types of online harm, such as somebody telling another person to commit suicide. He said up until that point he does not believe a tech company would face legal repercussions.
Lastine, citing the story of the Hulu drama "The Girl From Plainville," said it is already extremely difficult to establish one-on-one liability and bringing in a third party, like a social media site or tech company, would only increase the difficulty of winning a case.
In 2014, Michelle Carter fell under the national spotlight after it was discovered that she sent text messages to her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, urging him to kill himself. Though she was charged with involuntary manslaughter and faced up to 20 years in prison, Carter was only sentenced to 15months behind bars.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AI COVERAGE FROM FOX NEWS DIGITAL
Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Alphabet Inc. is expected to release earnings figures on February 2. (Photographer: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"It was hard enough to find the girl who was sending the text messages liable, let alone the cell phone that was sending those messages," Lastine said. "Once algorithms and computers start telling people to start inflicting harm on other humans, we have bigger problems when machines start doing that."
Ari Lightman, a Distinguished Service Professor at the Carnegie Mellon Heinz College of Information Systems and Policy, told Fox News Digital that a change to Section 230 could open a "Pandora's box" of litigation against tech companies.
"If this opens up the floodgate of lawsuits for people to start suing all of these platforms for harms that have been perpetrated as they perceive toward themthat could really stifle down innovation considerably," he said.
However, Lightman also said the case reaffirmed the importance of consumer protection and noted that if a digital platform can recommend things to users with immunity, they need to design more accurate, usable, and safer products.
Lightman added that what constitutes harm in a particular case against a tech company is very subjective for example, an AI chatbot making someone wait too long or giving erroneous information. According to Lightman, a standard in which lawyers attempt to tie harm to a platform could be "very problematic," leading to a sort of "open season" for lawyers.
"It's going to be litigated and debated for a long period of time," Lightman said.
ALTERNATIVE INVENTOR? BIDEN AMIN OPENS DOOR TO NON-HUMAN, AI PATENT HOLDERS
Lightman noted that AI has many legal issues associated with it, not just liability and erroneous information but also IP issues specific to the content. He said that greater transparency about where the model acquired its data, why it presented such data, and the ability to audit would be an important mechanism for an argument against tech companies' immunity from grievances filed by users unhappy with the AI's output.
Throughout the oral arguments for the case, Schnapper reaffirmed his stance that YouTube's algorithm, which helps to present content to users, is in an of itself a form of speech on the part of YouTube and should therefore be considered separately from content posted by a third party.
Blatt claimed the company was not responsible because all search engines leverage user information to present results. For example, she noted that someone searching for "football" would be provided different results depending on whether they were in the U.S. or somewhere in Europe.
U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart compared the conundrum to a hypothetical situation where a bookstore clerk directs a customer to a specific table where a book is located. In this case, Stewart claimed the clerk's suggestion would be speech about the book and would be separate from any speech contained inside the book.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The justices are expected to rule on the case by the end of June to determine whether YouTube could be sued over its algorithms used to push video recommendations.
Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
Go here to read the rest:
- What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? - Definition from ... [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence | Neuro AI [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2016]
- Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence [Last Updated On: June 13th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 13th, 2016]
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Wikipedia, the free ... [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Intro to Artificial Intelligence Course and Training ... [Last Updated On: June 28th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 28th, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence | Neuro AI [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2016]
- What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Webopedia Definition [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2016]
- Intro to Artificial Intelligence Course and Training Online ... [Last Updated On: July 5th, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 5th, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence News -- ScienceDaily [Last Updated On: September 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 16th, 2016]
- Artificial intelligence positioned to be a game-changer - CBS ... [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach - amazon.com [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence - IndiaBIX [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- The Non-Technical Guide to Machine Learning & Artificial ... [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence - Graduate Schools of Science ... [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: An Introduction [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- What does artificial intelligence mean? - Definitions.net [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence Lockheed Martin [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence Course - Computer Science at CCSU [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- FREE Artificial Intelligence Essay - Example Essays [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Elon Musk's artificial intelligence group signs Microsoft ... [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Real FX - Slotless Racing with Artificial Intelligence [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Artificial Intelligence: What It Is and How It Really Works [Last Updated On: January 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 4th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence Market Size and Forecast by 2024 [Last Updated On: January 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 4th, 2017]
- Algorithm-Driven Design: How Artificial Intelligence Is ... [Last Updated On: January 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 4th, 2017]
- 9 Development in Artificial Intelligence | Funding a ... [Last Updated On: January 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 4th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence Tops Humans in Poker Battle What's the Big Deal? - PokerNews.com [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Is AI a Threat to Christianity? - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Allow mathematicians to pierce artificial intelligence frontiers - Livemint [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Montreal sees its future in smart sensors, artificial intelligence (with video) - Computerworld [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Silicon Valley Hedge Fund Takes On Wall Street With AI Trader - Bloomberg [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- The Observer view on artificial intelligence - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence Is Coming Whether You Like It Or Not - Mother Jones [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- RealDoll Creating Artificial Intelligence System, Robotic Sex Dolls ... - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Forget lessons, these smart skis are loaded with artificial intelligence - Mashable [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence Correctly Predicted the Patriots' 34-28 Super ... - Digital Trends [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Why C-Levels Need To Think About eLearning And Artificial Intelligence - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence-Driven Robots: More Brains Than Brawn - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Artificial intelligence: How to build the business case - ZDNet [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- What 'social artificial intelligence' means for marketers - VentureBeat [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Actress Kristen Stewart's Research Paper On Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Evaluation - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Baidu cut its healthcare business to concentrate on artificial intelligence - Asia Times [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Google Android Wear 2.0 update puts artificial intelligence inside your wristwatch - The Sun [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- How criminals use Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - BetaNews [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- In the Labs: Connected vehicles in Ohio, artificial intelligence in Illinois and Massachusetts - Network World [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Keeping an eye on artificial intelligence - The National Business Review [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Actors, teachers, therapists think your job is safe from artificial intelligence? Think again - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Wells Fargo Innovation Group to Focus on Artificial Intelligence, Payments and APIs - Wall Street Journal (blog) [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- SAP aims to step up its artificial intelligence, machine learning game as S/4HANA hits public cloud - ZDNet [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence Is Coming To Police Bodycams, Raising Privacy Concerns - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Nvidia Beats Earnings Estimates As Its Artificial Intelligence Business Keeps On Booming - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Could Artificial Intelligence Ever Become A Threat To Humanity? - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Artificial intuition will supersede artificial intelligence, experts say - Network World [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- The Peril of Inaction with Artificial Intelligence - Gigaom [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- TASER International Bringing Artificial Intelligence to Law Enforcement - Motley Fool [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- LG G6 teasers emphasize battery life, artificial intelligence - CNET [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Wells Fargo sets up artificial intelligence team in tech push - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Ford spending $1 billion on self-driving artificial intelligence - CNET [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence in Business Process Automation - Nanalyze [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- An artificial intelligence gamble that paid off - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Ford to Invest $1 Billion in Artificial Intelligence Start-Up - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Wells Fargo Pushes Into Artificial Intelligence - Fortune [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Artificial intelligence predictions surpass reality - UT The Daily Texan [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Creating artificial intelligence-driven technology products is almost like unleashing the Frankenstein's monster - Economic Times (blog) [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Inside Intel Corporation's Artificial Intelligence Strategy - Motley Fool [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- The artificial intelligence revolutionising healthcare - Irish Times [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Ford Announces Investment in Artificial Intelligence Company Argo AI - Motor Trend [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Ford Invests $1-Billion in Artificial Intelligence - AutoGuide.com [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Salesforce adds some artificial intelligence to customer service products - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- No hype, just fact: Artificial intelligence in simple business terms - ZDNet [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence and The Confusion of Our Age - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- How Artificial Intelligence Startups Struck Gold - Entrepreneur [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Terrifyingly, Google's Artificial Intelligence acts aggressive when cornered - Chron.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- This Startup Has Developed A New Artificial Intelligence That Can (Sometimes) Beat Google - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- RPI artificial intelligence expert looks at Westworld - Albany Times Union [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Google's DeepMind artificial intelligence becomes 'highly aggressive' when stressed. Skynet, anyone? - Mirror.co.uk [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence Enters The Classroom - News One [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- John Pisarek Talks Artificial Intelligence - Customer Think [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Can Artificial Intelligence Predict Earthquakes? - Scientific American [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Artificial Intelligence Is Becoming A Major Disruptive Force In Banks' Finance Departments - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]