Biden’s AI Directive: Pioneering Responsible Tech In US - Forbes

Kamala Harris (R) looks on as President Joe Biden signs a new executive order guiding his administration’s approach to artificial intelligence during an event in the East Room of the White House on October 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Biden issued a new executive order on Monday, directing his administration to create a new chief AI officer, track companies developing the most powerful AI systems, adopt stronger privacy policies and “both deploy AI and guard against its possible bias,” creating new safety guidelines and industry standards. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The recent Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence issued on October 30, 2023, by President Biden is a landmark moment in the pursuit of responsible technology. The White House executive order on AI is poised to be unparalleled in its ambition and scope, at least in recent memory. This is not just another directive; it’s a critical call to action for the entire federal government. Nearly every U.S. government department and agency is set to undertake specific responsibilities within a tight timeframe. This ripple effect is expected to resonate across diverse economic sectors and significantly influence the global AI landscape. By establishing guidelines for trustworthy AI development and use, the order puts ethical considerations at the core of technological advancement.

The order spans:

Ensuring AI safety and security through testing standards and public-private collaboration.
Protecting privacy via supporting privacy-enhancing technologies.
Advancing equity by tackling algorithmic discrimination in areas like criminal justice.
Empowering consumers and workers through policies curbing AI harms.
Driving competition and innovation via research investments and immigration reforms.
Promoting international leadership in AI governance.

This multifaceted blueprint balances ingenuity with public interests. While provisions on talent growth, R&D funding, and streamlining immigration underscore American innovation, directives on ethics and accountability put people first. Michael Berthold, CEO of KNIME and renowned German computer scientist, shared with me, “While conversational and other types of AI have had a significant impact on organizations, every now and then, the output from AI can be dramatically incorrect. Between this, the increasing democratization of data across organizations, and the occasional faultiness of AI due to bias and issues such as hallucinations, organizations must work hard to ensure the safe use of AI.”

Key Takeaways From The Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence

Kamala Harris delivers remarks with President Joe Biden about their administration’s work to regulate artificial intelligence during an event in the East Room of the White House on October 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Biden issued a new executive order on Monday, directing his administration to create a new chief AI officer, track companies developing the most powerful AI systems, adopt stronger privacy policies and “both deploy AI and guard against its possible bias,” creating new safety guidelines and industry standards. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Some of the defining elements of this executive order and their potential impacts include:

Talent Inflow: Easing immigration hurdles for high-skilled professionals can lead to a richer talent pool in the US, potentially accelerating AI innovations across sectors, including social media.

Risk Management in AI Procurement: The emphasis on risk management when government agencies procure AI hints at a broader industry trend of cautious AI deployment, ensuring safety and ethics aren’t compromised.

AI Safety and Security Standards: New standards will dictate how AI is designed and deployed. Adherence to these standards will not only mitigate risks but could also be a market differentiator.

Transparency through Safety Test Sharing: Sharing safety test results with the government pre-release could set a precedent for transparency, influencing consumer trust and regulatory goodwill.

Addressing Labor Market Disruptions: A directive to explore support for workers displaced by AI could hint at a balanced approach to automation, ensuring societal stability alongside technological advancement.

Curbing AI-Driven Discrimination: A strong stand against AI discrimination requires re-evaluating algorithms for inherent biases, which is especially crucial for social media platforms and public-facing AI applications.

Fueling Innovation and Competition: Initiatives like the National AI Research Resource could spur AI advancements, potentially opening new avenues for investment and competition.

Government’s AI Utilization: Guidelines for government use of AI could model how corporations might deploy AI ethically and efficiently, potentially leading to cost-savings and operational efficiencies.

Immediate Regulatory Impact: The executive order’s immediate enforceability underscores a proactive regulatory stance, urging businesses to align their AI strategies with the evolving legal framework swiftly.

A Milestone for Responsible AI

This order sets an example for businesses to build trust and goodwill; as Michael Berthold explains, “This executive order from the Biden administration – while directed at federal organizations – follows similar plans by other countries and the EU and is an important step towards ensuring responsible AI use. It will force many organizations to reevaluate their own processes and how they ethically leverage the technology.”

With rising concerns around AI risks, the order stresses transparency and accountability. Its urgency could shape corporate philosophy on emerging tech. It prompts companies to self-reflect and orient AI efforts toward democratic values.

Provisions to drive continuous innovation balance ethics with progress. Overall, the order puts responsible AI on the fast track. It’s a milestone for mainstreaming ethical AI with lessons for businesses worldwide.

How Does The Biden Administration’s Executive Order Compare to the EU’s AI Act?

President of the European Commission for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager (L) and the EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton (R) are talking to media in the Berlaymont, the EU Commission headquarter on February 19, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. Today, the Commission unveils its ideas and actions for a digital transformation that works for all, reflecting the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident. It presents a European society powered by digital solutions that put people first, opens up new opportunities for businesses, and boosts the development of trustworthy technology to foster an open and democratic society and a vibrant and sustainable economy. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The EU’s proposed Artificial Intelligence Act takes a similar risk-based approach to regulating AI. However, there are some key differences:

The EU act narrowly defines high-risk AI to regulate, while the US order covers all AI arenas.
Mandatory conformity assessments and EU approval characterize the EU approach for high-risk AI. The US relies more on voluntary disclosures to the government.
Caution on uses like social scoring and facial recognition is seen in the EU act, unlike the US order, which focuses on harm prevention without prohibitions.
Strong emphasis on research and talent marks the US order compared to the EU act’s muted take on R&D and skills.
While both envision international collaboration, the US order must be more explicit in engaging international bodies.

While the US order is broader in scope, the EU act takes a more compliance-driven approach. Both aim to balance innovation with responsibility but differ in regulatory strategies. As democratic tech powers, joint leadership on trustworthy AI will be impactful globally. If their approaches converge, it can set the bar for ethical tech worldwide.

The Way Forward

President Biden’s executive order indicates that responsible innovation is now an imperative, not an afterthought. It reinforces ethics as a design priority, not just a damage control measure.

However, its actual test will be effective on-ground implementation. If it can translate principles to practices, it will drive home the message that artificial intelligence must align with moral intelligence. Getting this right is vital for an AI-powered civilization where human dignity and democratic values continue to matter.

Closing The Gaps For Effective Implementation

Real-world implementation will determine the order’s impact. Michael Berthold also notes, “Depending on the criticality of the application, companies must establish guardrails by maintaining decision-making control, add guidelines that will later be applied before the output is used, or ensure there’s always a human involved in any process involving AI technologies.” Key priorities include:

Developing detailed, sector-specific guidelines for ethical AI development and deployment through collective engagement between industry, academia, civil society and government.
Incentivizing investments in safety and algorithmic fairness enhancing technologies. Significantly increasing funding for multidisciplinary AI ethics research centers.
Mainstreaming AI ethics and social impact education across tech curricula and building AI literacy for policymakers through tailored programs.
Instituting mandatory external audits, impact assessments, and accessible grievance redressal mechanisms for high-risk AI systems.
Proactively creating opportunities, platforms and formats for inclusive public consultation and shaping a nuanced public discourse on AI challenges and aspirations.
Partnering with allies globally to advance norms and standards on issues like lethal autonomous weapons, cross-border data flows, and algorithmic transparency.

Targeted collaboration and investment across these areas can help manifest the vision for human-centric, ethical AI laid out in the order. It calls for collective responsibility to align technological progress with moral values and democratic principles.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out some of my other work here.

Mr. Minevich is a highly regarded and trusted Digital Cognitive Strategist, Artificial Intelligence expert, Venture Capitalist, and the principal founder of Going Global Ventures. Mark collaborates and advises large global enterprises both in the US and Japan (Hitachi), and is the official AI and Future of Work Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group. Currently, he serves as the strategic advisor and Global ambassador to the CEO and Chairman of New York based IPsoft Inc.

Mark holds the role of senior fellow as part of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C., and maintains a position as senior adviser on Global Innovation and Technology to the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS). He is an appointed member of the G20/B20’s Digital Task Force, supplementing the group with expert knowledge on digitization, advanced autonomous systems, and the future of AI.

Mark is also the founder and Co-Chair of the World Artificial Intelligence Organization and AI Pioneers based in New York, and was appointed as the Global Digital Ambassador to the World Assessment Council in early 2020. He is the Strategic Advisor to SwissCognitive – “independent” Global AI think-tank in Switzerland, which aims to share, connect, and unlock the fullest potential of Artificial Intelligence.

Mark also advises several venture capital groups. He acts as a Fund Adviser to Bootstrap Labs based in San Francisco: a pioneer in the realm of VC funds focused on applied AI, carrying with it a mature fund and portfolio of 24 applied AI companies. Mark is also an Advisor to the AI Capital Venture Fund based in Colorado, which is a dedicated venture and private equity fund geared towards AI companies in the late-seed to growth-stage maturity level.

Mark is also a trusted Adviser and Entrepreneur in Residence for Hanaco Ventures, a global venture fund that focuses on late-stage, pre-IPO Israeli and US companies powered by bold, visionary, and passionate minds. Prior to this position, Mark was the Vice Chair of Ventures and External Affairs, as well as CTO at the Comtrade Group, an international technology conglomerate. He also served as the CTO and Strategy Executive at IBM, and held other management, technology, and strategy roles that entailed formulating investment tactics for Venture Capital Incubation programs.

Mark is also involved in media and journalism, and contributes to a number of publications, such as Forbes.com. His knowledge has been cited and his name has been featured in articles on an international scale.

Forbes named Mark one of the Leaders to Watch in 2017. He has received the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement and the World Trade Leadership Award from the World Trade Centers and World Trade Center’s Association. Mark has served as a venture partner with GVA Capital in Silicon Valley, advising the fund on AI startups. He has also served as venture advisor to Global Emerging Markets, an alternative investment group that manages a diverse set of investment vehicles. Mark was also involved with Research Board, a Gartner company and international think-tank advising CIOs at some of the world’s largest corporations, such as: Deutsche Bank, BTM Corporation, Geotek Communications, Qwest Communications, Comcast, and USWEB/CKS.