Stop AI debt collectors!
Petition to Congress:
Stop the harmful use of AI by debt collections companies.
Debt collectors may be super-charging their abilities to harass people in debt.
Debt collections corporations, infamous for bullying and intimidating people, are replacing human debt collectors with AI.1 Debt collectors powered by new tools for harassment could start making millions of calls in just a few days, scaling up the speed and lowering the cost of hounding people for money. This level of corporations harassing people for money is scary, dangerous, and must be stopped.
Sign the petition to Congress: Block debt collections corporations from using AI to super-charge their harassment of people in debt.
As Vice reports, "The prospect of automated AI systems making phone calls to distressed people adds another dystopian element to an industry that has long targeted poor and marginalized people."2
The dangers of AI are well-established. Recently, Vice reported on a helpline for people with eating disorders in trouble after its AI chatbot made inappropriate, harmful statements to users in need. That happened after the helpline replaced human responders with the AI.3 The reckless use of AI is an urgent problem.
Too often, corporations are targeting people struggling to get by, whether it’s price-gouging at the grocery store, health insurance companies denying claims, and, now, debt collectors finding new ways to harass people in debt.
Congress must take urgent action to stop debt collectors from utilizing this AI-fueled targeted harassment.
Add your name: Congress must stop the harmful, corporate use of AI chatbots in debt collections.
Sources:
- Vice, “Debt Collectors Want To Use AI Chatbots To Hustle People For Money,” May 18, 2023.
- Ibid.
- Vice, “Eating Disorder Helpline Disables Chatbot for 'Harmful' Responses After Firing Human Staff,” May 30, 2023.