White House unveils wide-ranging action to mitigate AI risks
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[October 30, 2023]
By Jeff Mason
(Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will take wide ranging action on
artificial intelligence (AI) on Monday by seeking to increase safety
while protecting consumers, workers, and minority groups from the
technology's related risks.
The executive order he will unveil is the latest step by the
administration to set parameters around AI as it makes rapid gains in
capability and popularity in an environment of, so far, limited
regulation.
AI companies such as OpenAI, Alphabet and Meta Platforms previously
agreed voluntarily to commit to watermark AI-generated content to make
the technology safer.
The new executive order, which Biden will highlight at an event on
Monday, goes further than those commitments.
It requires that developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S.
national security, the economy, public health or safety share the
results of safety tests with the U.S. government, in line with the
Defense Production Act, before they are released to the public.
It also directs agencies to set standards for that testing and address
related chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity
risks, according to the White House.
To make sure government communications are clear, the Commerce
Department will "develop guidance for content authentication and
watermarking" for label items that are generated by AI, the White House
said in a release about the order.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed called the order, which
also delves into privacy, housing discrimination and job displacement,
the "strongest set of actions" any government had taken to ensure AI
security.
"It’s the next step in an aggressive strategy to do everything on all
fronts to harness the benefits of AI and mitigate the risks," he said in
a statement.
The Group of Seven industrial countries on Monday will agree a code of
conduct for companies developing advanced artificial intelligence
systems, according to a G7 document.
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AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer
motherboard in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado
Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo
A senior administration official, briefing reporters ahead of the
official unveiling of the order, pushed back against criticism that
Europe had been more aggressive at regulating AI than the United
States has.
The official said the executive order had the force of law and the
White House believed that legislative action from Congress was also
necessary for AI governance.
Biden is calling on Congress in particular to pass legislation on
data privacy, the White House said.
U.S. officials have warned that AI can heighten the risk of bias and
civil rights violations and Biden's executive order seeks to address
that by calling for guidance to landlords, federal benefits programs
and federal contractors "to keep AI algorithms from being used to
exacerbate discrimination," the release said.
The order also calls for the development of "best practices" to
address harms that AI may cause workers, including job displacement,
and requires a report on labor market impacts.
Vice President Kamala Harris will attend an AI global summit in
Britain this week; China is also expected to be represented at the
meeting, hosted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Sunak has said only governments could tackle the risks posed by AI,
a technology he said could make it easier to build chemical or
biological weapons, spread fear and, in a worse-case scenario,
escape human control.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; additional reporting by John Kruzel;
editing by Grant McCool)
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