The US government wants to use AI too (ethically)

The Biden administration said Thursday that the US government will seek public guidance on its own plans to use AI within government agencies.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said it would “release draft policy guidance on the use of AI systems by the US government for public comment.” It came as administration officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, met with the CEOs of Alphabet, Antropic, Microsoft and OpenAI (four companies at the forefront of AI development in the US).

“AI is one of the most powerful technologies of our time, but to seize the opportunities it presents, we must first mitigate its risks,” the administration said in a statement. “President Biden has made it clear that when it comes to AI, it must put people and communities at the center by supporting responsible innovation that serves the public good while protecting our society, security and economy.”

OMB’s AI policy is due out this summer with the idea that the public has a chance to comment before governments act. In particular, government agencies “will be able to use AI responsibly to strengthen their ability to carry out their missions and serve Americans equitably,” the statement added.

The administration also said it would work with leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI and Stability AI, to participate in public evaluations of its own AI systems to ensure consistency with the United States. Policy. The National Science Foundation also announced $140 million in funding to establish seven new national AI laboratories.

The challenge at hand is that AI has evolved rapidly, with or without input outside governments or major tech companies like Google. “You can’t put the AI ​​genie back in the bottle,” said Craig Burland, CISO of cybersecurity firm Inversion6.

“Clever humans will find new ways to use this tool for good or for bad,” Burland said in an emailed statement. “All regulations are largely ceremonial and practically unenforceable.”

The Biden administration proposed a 30% tax on cryptocurrencies earlier on Thursday.