As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, it’s transforming nearly every aspect of our digital lives—whether we’re browsing websites, engaging on social media, using software, or playing video games. However, while AI is becoming an integral part of these platforms, the regulations and transparency around its usage remain murky. Current Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policies may mention AI in passing, but they lack the detail, accessibility, and prominence that such a powerful and potentially invasive technology demands.
That’s why there is an urgent need for federal regulation mandating a distinct and easily identifiable set of Artificial Intelligence Terms (AIT) for websites, social media platforms, software, and especially video games. The Department of Technology at department.technology advocates for this crucial regulation to safeguard citizens’ rights and ensure transparency and accountability in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Why We Need AI-Specific Terms
AI is no longer a fringe technology—it’s deeply embedded in how platforms collect, process, and act upon user data. For example:
- Websites may use AI for personalized advertising or content recommendations.
- Social media platforms rely on AI algorithms to moderate content, curate news feeds, and even influence political discourse.
- Software tools increasingly integrate AI for automation, decision-making, and data analysis.
- Video games now use AI for creating intelligent non-player characters (NPCs), customizing user experiences, and even microtransactions.
Yet, most users are unaware of the extent of AI’s role in these digital spaces. Current ToS and Privacy Policies often lump AI usage under broad and vague categories, making it nearly impossible for users to understand how AI is affecting them. This lack of transparency is a significant gap in protecting consumer rights, privacy, and even the ethical use of AI technology.
The Vision for Artificial Intelligence Terms (AIT)
The Department of Technology envisions a future where AI usage on digital platforms is no longer hidden or vague but clearly outlined in a dedicated section—Artificial Intelligence Terms (AIT). These terms would:
- Clearly define the scope and purpose of AI usage.
- Outline specific data collected for AI purposes, such as facial recognition, behavioral tracking, or voice data.
- Explain how AI decisions impact user experiences, including recommendations, moderation, and content curation.
- Specify rights users have to opt out of AI-driven processes, wherever feasible.
- Address ethical considerations of AI use, such as algorithmic bias, data protection, and potential misuse.
Most importantly, these AITs must be separate, searchable, and easily accessible on any digital platform that employs AI. Users should not have to dig through extensive legal jargon in Privacy Policies or ToS to understand how AI is impacting them.
AIT for Video Games: A Special Case
One area where AI regulation is particularly critical is video games. AI is used extensively in modern games for dynamic storytelling, adaptive difficulty, and even in monetization strategies. However, video game companies rarely disclose how much influence AI has over these experiences.
Consider microtransactions—AI can track a player’s habits, learning when they’re most likely to make a purchase, and push targeted ads or incentives. Without proper disclosure, players may not even realize they are being manipulated by AI to spend more money.
A well-regulated AIT for video games would ensure:
- Transparency around how AI shapes gameplay and in-game economies.
- Ethical considerations, such as avoiding addictive AI-driven mechanisms that exploit vulnerable players.
- Clear labeling of AI-generated content or NPC behavior to distinguish it from human-made content.
Why Federal Regulation is Critical
Without federal regulation, the responsibility of creating, maintaining, and enforcing AIT is left entirely up to individual companies, many of which are incentivized to keep their AI practices as opaque as possible. The absence of clear, enforceable rules allows AI to operate in ways that can harm consumers, undermine privacy, and even manipulate public behavior.
By introducing federal legislation, we can:
- Ensure consistency across platforms, making AITs a standard requirement for any digital service using AI.
- Protect consumer rights, especially in understanding how AI is influencing their experience.
- Promote ethical AI use, ensuring companies do not exploit AI’s potential for invasive data collection or manipulation.
A Call to Action
The Department of Technology at department.technology calls upon lawmakers, regulators, and industry leaders to take immediate action. We must develop a federal framework that requires websites, social media companies, software providers, and video game developers to implement clear and accessible Artificial Intelligence Terms (AIT).
This is not just about transparency—it’s about protecting citizens from the unchecked and often invisible influence of AI. By mandating a separate, identifiable, and easy-to-understand AIT, we can ensure that AI operates within the bounds of ethical standards, protects privacy, and is used in ways that benefit—not exploit—users.
Summary
Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way we interact with digital platforms, but without clear and comprehensive regulation, it remains a black box for most users. Federal regulation mandating a distinct AIT is an urgent necessity to ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical use of AI in websites, social media, software, and especially video games.
We must act now to ensure AI serves the public interest rather than corporate profit alone. By supporting the development of comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Terms, we can create a future where AI enhances our digital experiences without compromising our rights or privacy.
Scenarios
The following scenarios highlight how data collected in multiplayer video games, particularly in high stakes combat simulations like Call of Duty, could be repurposed for military applications without user consent. The implications raise significant concerns about privacy, ethics, and transparency in the digital age, particularly when entertainment data is used for real-world combat technologies.
Scenario 1: Player Behavior Data for Military Drone Training
In a popular multiplayer fighting game similar to Call of Duty, players unknowingly provide extensive behavioral data during gameplay, including reaction times, movement patterns, and decision-making in high-pressure situations. The game company collects this data under vague terms of service that make no explicit mention of AI modeling for military applications.
Unbeknownst to the players, this data is being used to train AI systems for military drones. The goal is to replicate human-like decision-making for drones in combat zones, enhancing their ability to autonomously identify targets and respond to threats in real time. Players, unaware of this secondary use, believe their data is only used to improve in-game mechanics, such as matchmaking or game balancing.
The game company eventually shares this data with a defense contractor, who incorporates it into a real-world AI system. This AI, trained on the split-second decisions made by millions of players in virtual combat scenarios, becomes part of a drone’s autonomous targeting system in an active military conflict. Despite public outcry when this use is revealed, the game company cites broad terms in their privacy policy that mention “data sharing with partners.”
Scenario 2: Voice Chat Data for AI Training in Combat Scenarios
Players in the multiplayer game regularly use voice chat to coordinate strategies, communicate with teammates, and issue real-time commands during virtual battles. Without explicit consent, the game company collects these audio interactions to analyze speech patterns, communication strategies, and emotional responses under stress. This voice data is then used to train AI systems that could simulate or analyze real combat communications in military operations.
A military contractor uses this AI to improve drone communication systems, enabling autonomous drones to respond to voice commands or replicate human-like communication patterns in combat zones. The AI systems are designed to assess the emotional state of soldiers based on speech, enabling the drone to adapt its behavior accordingly. As this technology is deployed, players realize that their private conversations in a virtual world are being repurposed to enhance real-world combat technologies, sparking debates about ethics and privacy.
Scenario 3: Combat Strategies Used for Autonomous Targeting
The multiplayer game features advanced AI opponents that mimic real combat scenarios, allowing players to refine their strategies against AI-driven enemies. The players’ data—specifically their tactical choices, evasive maneuvers, and engagement strategies—are tracked and stored. Without users’ knowledge, the game company transfers this data to a military contractor specializing in autonomous weapons systems.
The contractor uses this data to build AI for military drones, optimizing how these drones react in battlefield situations, including how to approach, engage, and disengage from hostile forces. The data from millions of players, who have developed sophisticated strategies in the game’s virtual environment, significantly enhances the AI’s real-world combat capabilities. When these drones are deployed in an actual conflict, their combat decisions closely mirror the tactics used by video game players, raising ethical concerns about the unintended consequences of using entertainment data in military applications.
Scenario 4: Heatmap Analysis of Player Movements for Real Combat Zones
In the multiplayer game, a feature allows players to see heatmaps of where the most action takes place on the battlefield—indicating where players tend to gather, attack, or defend. This heatmap data is being analyzed by the game developers to enhance gameplay and map design. However, the developers also collect this data for an entirely different purpose: modeling real-world urban combat scenarios.
Without informing users, the company shares this data with a military research group developing AI for drone operations in urban areas. The heatmaps, reflecting high-traffic zones, choke points, and common ambush strategies in the game, are used to train AI systems to predict enemy movements and engagement zones in real-life urban warfare. This results in drones that can autonomously navigate and target based on the patterns learned from millions of multiplayer matches. When the game’s users learn that their movements and strategies in a fictional world are being used to guide real-life military operations, including drone strikes, it creates a public outcry over the misuse of their data.
Scenario 5: Real-Time Player Emulation for Military AI Testing
During competitive multiplayer matches, players make rapid decisions under stress, including how to aim, shoot, take cover, or flee. The game’s AI tracks these real-time decisions, which are then compiled into datasets that represent human decision-making in fast-paced combat environments. The game company covertly shares this data with a military AI project focused on creating autonomous combat drones capable of mimicking human-like decisions in real-world battle conditions.
The AI models derived from player behavior are tested in military simulations to assess how effectively drones can replicate human decisions in battlefield scenarios, including identifying targets, engaging enemies, and retreating when necessary. This AI is then deployed in live combat zones, leading to autonomous drones that behave like human soldiers. When it is revealed that millions of gamers contributed to the development of these autonomous systems without their consent, ethical concerns are raised about the accountability of AI in lethal combat situations.
Scenario 6: In-Game Learning Algorithms Repurposed for Military AI
The game’s AI continuously learns from player behavior, refining its own tactics and adapting to player skill levels. This learning algorithm, originally intended to create more challenging in-game AI opponents, is secretly shared with military AI developers. These developers use the algorithm to improve military drones’ adaptive capabilities in real-world combat, allowing drones to learn and evolve based on battlefield conditions.
As the drones engage in combat, they refine their strategies in real-time, just as the game’s AI opponents would. Players’ in-game behavior has directly influenced the AI’s ability to adapt and evolve in combat scenarios, enhancing its lethality and precision. When the gaming community learns that their actions in virtual battles have been repurposed to create adaptive, autonomous military systems, the resulting controversy highlights the lack of transparency in the use of gaming data for defense purposes.
Scenario 7: Weapon Customization Data Used for Real Drone Payloads
The multiplayer game allows players to customize their weapons, from adjusting fire rates and scopes to personalizing loadouts for different combat scenarios. This data on weapon customization is collected and analyzed by the game developers to understand player preferences and strategies. However, unbeknownst to the players, this information is being shared with a defense contractor who uses it to design payload systems for military drones.
The contractor uses the data to inform decisions about drone weaponry configurations, optimizing drones for specific types of engagements based on the preferences and tendencies observed in-game. When this repurposing of customization data is made public, the ethical implications of gamers unknowingly contributing to the development of real-world military hardware ignite debates about user consent and data misuse.