An executive order was signed Monday by President Joe Biden with the intent of focusing on America’s responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI).
“The president has been very clear that we have an obligation to not only harness the power of AI for good but also to protect people from its profound potential risk,” said Stephen Benjamin, senior adviser to the president and director of the Office of Public Engagement, who led the announcement about the executive order.
Based on research and guidance from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the executive order is felt to be the biggest policy initiative about AI that is being taken on by any government, according to statements made by Arati Prabhakar, Ph.D., director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and science adviser to the president.
“They know that AI is one of the most consequential technologies of our time,” Prabhakar said during a White House briefing. “We all know that AI’s applications are extremely broad. If you just look over the last decade, artificial intelligence has already come into many different parts of Americans’ daily lives.”
Speakers during the executive order announcement looked at both sides of AI, they acknowledged the helpful potential of AI, but also its troubling side.
Going deep into America’s existing Defense Production Act is captured in the executive order. This law, often used in times of war or in a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, will compel AI companies to share the results of their great testing, research, and safety tests with the U.S. government.
The order also affects the Department of Commerce to help Americans know when AI creates content. Coincidentally, a similar policy standard was announced by the Recording Academy, affecting how artists produce their music.
Presenters at Monday’s briefing unanimously agreed that, looking ahead, even more change is coming. AI is opening new horizons. It’s part of generating new insights about human behavior patterns, and it is part of designing products that enable our industries to outcompete the rest of the world.
