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Meet the Press Reports: Consumers may be unaware of A.I.'s current impact

In this week's episode of "Meet the Press Reports," NBC News' Jacob Ward spoke to the creators behind the world's latest artificial intelligence innovations.

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Many consumers may not even realize that artificial intelligence is already powering systems they use regularly, from smart search engines to welfare distribution, and even a program aimed at preventing childhood suicides.

But artificial intelligence, or A.I., still remains largely unregulated, according to a new episode of Meet the Press Reports.

"Life and death decisions are being made by automated decision-making systems and they're determining people's access to government support for housing, food, medical care," University of Baltimore law professor Michele Gilman told NBC News' Jacob Ward.

While many proponents of A.I. are excited about the future of the technology, promising that it will make lives better for people around the world, others warn that a field run by a handful of powerful companies, with little government regulation, could be harmful.

"Let's be real, there are only a handful of companies in the world that have that combination of data and infrastructural power capable of creating what we're calling A.I from nose to tip," said Meredith Whittaker, president of the Signal Foundation.

Still, Ward reports, A.I. is already here.

"Even as the creator of the technology, sometimes I'm surprised [by what it can do]," Joshua Browder, the founder and CEO of DoNotPay, a chat-bot lawyer told Ward after they used the platform.

For more on the future of A.I., check out the latest episode of Meet the Press Reports.