White House meets AI CEOs to discuss the future of the technology

Last week, President Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris met with top AI executives to discuss what AI means for the future. Top of the agenda at the meeting was how AI can continue to grow while remaining safe and ethical.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO at Microsoft, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet were all present and they all agreed on the importance of risk-prevention strategies in AI-development.

Generative AI has become widely popular since the launch of Chat GPT. And while this has come with many benefits, the potential risks of the technology have not been lost among experts. For instance, we have seen how AI deep fakes can be used to spread false information or carry out cyber attacks on unsuspecting victims.

Still, the US government remains a big supporter of the technology as proved by its multiple investments in the industry. Case in point, the government has, through the National Science Foundation, invested $140 million to facilitate the creation of seven new national institutes for AI research.

The centres will work together with federal agencies, industry bodies, and higher education institutes to develop ethical and trustworthy AI solutions.

“President Biden has been clear that when it comes to AI, we must place people and communities at the centre by supporting responsible innovation that serves the public good while protecting our society, security, and economy. Importantly, this means that companies have a fundamental responsibility to make sure their products are safe before they are deployed or made public,” the White House wrote in a public statement.

This comes as US lawmakers began exploring strategies to regulate AI development. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has already announced that it will launch a public consultation on AI services to inform White House policy.

The Office of Management and Budget has also said that it will publish a draft policy on the potential for AI systems to be implemented at federal departments and agencies. It is hoped that public comment on this draft, combined with an eventual model for federal implementation, could set a precedent for responsible AI use that can be replicated throughout the industry and in state and local governments.

The EU is already a step ahead and has developed the EU AI Act that holds AI developers responsible for the misuse of their technology.

Chat GPT’s ban in Italy over violation of GDPR has also served to prove that there will be consequences for companies that don’t fall in line.