An increasing number of companies are using artificial intelligence (AI) for everyday tasks. Much of the technology is helping with productivity and keeping the public safer. However, some industries are pushing back against certain aspects of AI. And some industry leaders are working to balance the good and the bad.

"We are looking at critical infrastructure owners and operators, businesses from water and health care and transportation and communication, some of which are starting to integrate some of these AI capabilities," said U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly. "We want to make sure that they're integrating them in a way where they are not introducing a lot of new risk."

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Consulting firm Deloitte recently surveyed leaders of business organizations from around the world. The findings showed uncertainty over government regulations was a bigger issue than actually implementing AI technology. When asked about the top barrier to deploying AI tools, 36% ranked regulatory compliance first, 30% said difficulty managing risks, and 29% said lack of a governance model.

Easterly says despite some of the risks AI can pose, she said she is not surprised that the government has not taken more steps to regulate the technology.

"These are going to be the most powerful technologies of our century, probably more," Easterly said. "Most of these technologies are being built by private companies that are incentivized to provide returns for their shareholders. So we do need to ensure that government has a role in establishing safeguards to ensure that these technologies are being built in a way that prioritizes security. And that's where I think that Congress can have a role in ensuring that these technologies are as safe and secure to be used and implemented by the American people."

Congress has considered overarching protections for AI, but it has mostly been state governments enacting the rules.

"There are certainly many things that are positive about what AI does. It also, when fallen into the hands of bad actors, it can destroy [the music] industry," said Gov. Bill Lee, R-Tenn., while signing state legislation in March to protect musicians from AI. 

The Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, or ELVIS Act, classifies vocal likeness as a property right. Lee signed the legislation this year, making Tennessee the first state to enact protections for singers. Illinois and California have since passed similar laws. Other states, including Tennessee, have laws that determine names, photographs and likenesses are also considered a property right.

"Our voices and likenesses are indelible parts of us that have enabled us to showcase our talents and grow our audiences, not mere digital kibble for a machine to duplicate without consent," country recording artist Lainey Wilson said during a congressional hearing on AI and intellectual property.

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Wilson argued her image and likeness were used through AI to sell products that she had not previously endorsed.

"For decades, we have taken advantage of technology that, frankly, was not created to be secure. It was created for speed to market or cool features. And frankly, that's why we have cybersecurity," Easterly said.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cracked down on some deceptive AI marketing techniques. It launched "Operation AI Comply" in September, which tackles unfair and deceptive business practices using AI, such as fake reviews written by chatbots.

"I am a technologist at heart, and I am an optimist at heart. And so I am incredibly excited about some of these capabilities. And I am not concerned about some of the Skynet things. I do want to make sure that this technology is designed and developed and tested and delivered in a way to ensure that security is prioritized," Easterly said.

Chatbots have had some good reviews. Hawaii approved a law this year to invest more in research utilizing AI tools in the health care field. It comes as one study finds, OpenAI’s chatbot outperformed doctors in diagnosing medical conditions. The experiment compared doctors using ChatGPT with those using conventional resources. Both groups scored around 75% accuracy, while the chatbot alone scored above 90%.

AI isn’t just being used for disease detection, it’s also helping emergency crews detect catastrophic events. After deadly wildfires devastated Maui, Hawaii state lawmakers also allocated funds to the University of Hawaii to map statewide wildfire risks and improve forecasting technologies. It also includes $1 million for an AI-driven platform. Hawaiian Electric is also deploying high-resolution cameras across the state.

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"It will learn over months over years to be more sensitive to what is a fire and what is not," said Energy Department Under Secretary for AI and Technology Dimitri Kusnezov.

California and Colorado have similar technology. Within minutes, the AI can detect when a fire begins and where it may spread.

AI is also being used to keep students safe. Several school districts around the country now have firearm detection systems. One in Utah notifies officials within seconds of when a gun might be on campus.

"We want to create an inviting, educational environment that's secure. But we don't want the security to impact the education," said Park City, Utah, School District CEO Michael Tanner.

Maryland and Massachusetts are also considering state funds to implement similar technology. Both states voted to establish commissions to study emerging firearm technologies. Maryland’s commission will determine whether to use school construction funding to build the systems. Massachusetts members will look at risks associated with the new technology.

"We want to use these capabilities to ensure that we can better defend the critical infrastructure that Americans rely on every hour of every day," Easterly said.

The European Union passed regulations for AI this year. It ranks risks from minimal, which have no regulations, to unacceptable, which are banned. Chatbots are classified as specific transparency and are required to inform users they are interacting with a machine. Software for critical infrastructure is considered high risk and must comply with strict requirements. Most technology that profiles individuals or uses public images to build-up databases is considered unacceptable.

The U.S. has some guidelines for AI use and implementation, but experts say they believe it will not go as far as the EU classifying risks.

"We need to stay ahead in America to ensure that we win this race for artificial intelligence. And so it takes the investment, it takes the innovation," Easterly said. "We have to be an engine of innovation that makes America the greatest economy on the face of the earth."

In the 1930s, there were around 6.8 million farms in the United States. The size averaged at around 155 acres. Over the next several decades, the number of farms rapidly declined to around 1.9 million in 2023. Those farms grew larger, averaging around 464 acres.

As farming has changed over time, experts believe artificial intelligence (AI) can help farmers and producers make food faster and more efficiently.

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"I think there's a lot of potential for both increasing productivity on the crop side, but also for reducing the amount of resources that we use on the productivity side. There's the data that we can actually collect to increase yields and improve the nutritional quality. But then there's also the facilitate facilitating of reductions in labor availability," said Mason Earles, an assistant professor at UC Davis in the departments of Viticulture & Enology and Biological & Agricultural Engineering and researcher at the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems or AIFS.

The most recent data shows 41% of farmers reported labor shortages in 2018. That’s a 27% increase from those reporting shortages in 2014. The trend is expected to continue. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 2% decline in workers through 2033 despite the number of job openings remaining the same.

"We do more with less. It's not that it has no set way and has totally changed the traditional work, it is empowering, and it is increasing the productivity of existing workers," said Ilias Tagkopoulos, a computer science professor at UC Davis and the director of AIFS.

AIFS is funded through a grant from the USDA Institute of Food and Agriculture. It is part of USDA’s effort to conduct more research on utilizing Artificial Intelligence in agriculture.

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"One of the big things that I specifically focus on, and we work at the Institute for Food Systems is trying to say, how can I make an impact in agriculture and food systems across the board? Whether that has to do with production of different types of vegetables, fruits, nuts, other types of meats or other types of foods," Earles said. "There’s a lot of potential, we think, all the way from going from the research and lab side through startups, through corporate innovation. And we're here to kind of find a way to facilitate and integrate that along the way."

A USDA study shows just 27% of farmers are using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence. Investment is expected to grow across the industry from more than $2 billion this year to more than $5 in 2028.

"What our vision is, is how can we have a healthier society and a more sustainable planet? Our mission is to leverage AI to build that, to help towards that goal," Tagkopoulos said. "AI is doing two things. One is making businesses more productive. And the second is to accelerate innovation. It accelerates innovation by actually focusing on what matters versus what's out there."

Researchers are looking into how AI hardware like sensors or robotics can better gather data in the field.

"One of the powers of AI is that it can process a massive amount of data in a very short amount of time and achieve really high performance in pattern recognition," Earles said.

The technology can help farmers decide where to apply fertilizer and when the best opportunities for harvest might be.

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"There's great examples out there of being able to process millions of images within the course of every hour to identify where there might be damage due to weeds, presence of weeds or disease or pest, and be able to use various types of either implements to precisely remove those weeds or pests so that the farmer see higher yields. And the consumer sees better fruit, veggies and other products that are coming out of those fields," Earles said.

One USDA project at the University of Arkansas is looking at using virtual reality to process poultry. Researchers will study whether robots can be used in the field while workers control the devices virtually. While fewer workers are expected to be needed, the cost of the equipment is high.

"The question there is how can you make this technology even more cost-effective and the even more practical, which is always a challenge," Tagkopoulos said.

Controlled environments or indoor farming also see high upfront costs. But some studies have shown that higher crop yields are possible because of fewer weather-related challenges and the ability to grow year-round.

"We see in the future more data being generated, more tools becoming available, easier, much less expensive in terms of AI tools to be able to give recommendations on when to irrigate, when to farm, where to sell. A lot of more collaboration among farmers because now they understand more that they need to share their data. And it's not about competition. It's about everybody winning out of it," Tagkopoulos said.

Controlled environments have received a lot of funding in the past few years. The USDA recently broke ground on a project at Cornell University to research grapes. The National Grape Improvement Center will help scientists study climate adaptable grape varieties and management strategies for growers.

"The opportunity to grow fruits and veggies and other types of crops where they may not otherwise be able to grow has huge potential for delivering all sorts of foods, fresh foods and nutritious foods to urban and or other areas," Earles said. "AI has the real potential to help us understand how to regulate those types of indoor climates so that it can optimize the output."