SAN DIEGO — Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, is growing by the day and experts say as impressive as the technology is, it's also concerning.
Earlier this week, an Arizona mom testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee, recalling a terrifying ordeal where scammers manipulated her daughter's voice. "A threatening and vulgar man took the call over.....listen here, I have your daughter!"
The FBI recently issued a warning about AI, saying scammers were turning innocent photos and videos into something explicit to extort victims.
And, some students have been using the technology to write research papers, without doing any of the work themselves.
"It's definitely an amazing tool that can [be] used for good but it's also a tool that can be used for evil," said Nikolas Behar, a professor of cyber security at the University of San Diego.
Behar says the benefits of AI include everything from diagnosing medical conditions to helping with math problems.
Paul McCartney just revealed a new Beatles record will be released this year, thanks to AI.
All great things, but Behar says the list of not so great things is growing.
"So, for example we could use it to write viruses or write malicious software. We can also use it to clone voices. One of my biggest concerns is coming up in the election. It can be used to generate fake videos of the candidates saying certain things," said Bejar.
Even more concerning, is how easy AI is to use.
Anyone’s voice can be manipulated into saying something different within minutes.
“You will tell it what you want it to say, in that voice, and a few minutes later it will generate the clip when it's ready to download,” said Behar.
CBS 8 tested the technology through an online AI program, and like Bejar said, the results were available within minutes.
There are a series of proposed bills at the Federal level to deal with the dangers of A1.
For now, Behar suggests if you ever get a suspicious call, call that person's phone to see if it's really them or come up with specific code words for each other just in case.
In general, fact check what you see and hear as a way to protect yourself and others from this growing trend.
"We're starting to see guardrails proposed at a higher level, but I think it's gonna be a little bit before we have a handle on how we're gonna contain this technology," said Behar.
Watch Live: New Artificial Intelligence Center opens at San Diego State University (May 2, 2023)