JOLT x Aaron Alva – How Government Enforcement Is Shaping AI Development

Join JOLT for a conversation with Aaron Alva, Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center, on how government enforcers can use existing laws to shape AI development. Drawing on cases from his decade at the FTC, Aaron will discuss how traditional consumer protection and enforcement tools are being applied to emerging AI systems and what that means for the future of AI governance. Lunch will be served!

During his time at the FTC, Aaron worked behind the scenes on major enforcement matters that made national headlines, including Facebook’s $5 billion privacy settlement, Amazon’s changes to how Alexa handles children’s data, and the Rite Aid facial recognition case. In those matters, he helped shape the technical requirements and legal strategies that drove the outcomes, including the FTC’s first AI-specific remedies in the Rite Aid matter.

Aaron is a technologist and attorney whose work focuses on privacy, security, and AI governance. At the Berkman Klein Center, his current research focuses on how government enforcers can mitigate AI harms and incentivize responsible AI development through effective enforcement strategies.