President Joe Biden’s executive order is the most sweeping action yet to regulate AI, and entails several strategies to limit safety and security risks to the nation, including a trust-but-verify arrangement between the government and the private sector. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI
Oct. 30 (UPI) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday that slaps new requirements on tech developers to mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence and establishes new safety standards that aim to protect privacy and national security.
Biden’s directive is the most sweeping action yet to regulate AI, and entails several strategies to limit safety and security risks to the nation, including a trust-but-verify arrangement between the government and the private sector.
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The order requires AI system developers to share safety test results and other critical information with the administration as they become available, especially in cases where an AI model poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety, the White House announced in a statement.
Under the order, Biden also calls on the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish rigorous safety testing for the technology before it’s made available to the public.
Biden directed the Department of Homeland Security to establish the AI Safety and Security Board, which will apply the standards to critical infrastructure in an effort to limit chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity threats.
The president told agencies that fund scientific research to attach specific conditions to federal funding for companies responsible for mitigating risks associated with AI-engineered biological materials.
“These measures will ensure AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy before companies make them public,” the White House said.
Biden also ordered the Department of Commerce to develop public guidance for content authentication and watermarking to clearly label AI-generated content.
“Federal agencies will use these tools to make it easy for Americans to know that the communications they receive from their government are authentic — and set an example for the private sector and governments around the world,” the statement said.
Biden ordered White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and the National Security Council to develop further AI security actions to protect the military and intelligence communities.
The order also creates an advanced cybersecurity program to develop tools that would fix vulnerabilities in AI software.
Biden’s order builds on several previous actions by the president to ensure safe and transparent development of the emerging technology, while he was also preparing to deliver legislation to Congress that seeks to protect the nation from AI’s harmful potential.
The administration has secured commitments from more than a dozen tech companies to take a responsible approach to developing artificial intelligence for ethical purposes.
The order also contains priorities to protect individual privacy through stronger cryptographic tools and other protective technologies.
Biden called for government agencies to evaluate how they collect and use commercially available information to account for any AI risks.
The executive order builds on the administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, which was released earlier this year to promote responsible innovation in the field.
In February, Biden ordered all federal agencies to uproot bias in their technological action plans and to protect the public from algorithmic racial discrimination, which is also one of the primary capabilities of AI technology.
Biden’s executive order reiterates these commitments, emphasizing the importance of countering bias and other forms of discrimination in AI to maintain equity in areas such as justice, healthcare, and housing.
Previously, the administration said it would continue working with the companies over time to keep controls on pace with AI’s future development.
Biden’s order also addresses AI’s potential impact on the labor market, education, and consumer spending.
