Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been heralded as a way to disrupt the workforce–to the chagrin of many human workers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was hopeful about the future of AI in a meeting last week with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Musk "said he believed there would come a time when 'you can have a job if you want a job . . . but AI will be able to do everything,'" according to the Financial Times.
Last week the United Kingdom held its first artificial intelligence summit at Bletchley Park. The key outcome of the AI Safety Summit was the Bletchley Declaration, where the US and 27 other countries including China signed an agreement to ensure that AI remains "human-centric, trustworthy and responsible." The agreement notes the dangers of unregulated AI technology.
On Monday, the White House released a comprehensive Executive Order on artificial intelligence directed at Departments and Agencies within the Federal Government.
Two days prior, President Biden signed an "Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence," designed "to build U.S. capacity to evaluate and mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) systems to ensure safety, security, and trust, while promoting an innovative, competitive AI ecosystem that supports workers and protects consumers,"
"Highly capable, general-purpose AI models such as GPT-4 have drawn increased attention from policymakers. The Executive Order refers to these as "dual-use foundation models" and defines the term," notes Paul Scharre of CNAS.
"Foundation models can be expensive to train, using thousands of advanced chips and costing tens of millions of dollars. Once they have been trained, however, they can often be easily modified using minimal training costing a few hundred dollars. Companies often train their models to refuse dangerous tasks, but these safeguards can be easily trained away, hence the inclusion of this clause."
Commerce Role in EO Implementation
The Order mostly focuses on developing standards and directing that companies turn over their testing data to the Commerce Department.
Commerce will play a key role in implementing the EO, combining standards and evaluation capabilities with a combination of reporting requirements and voluntary measures. Specifically, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will be responsible for carrying out a significant portion of the EO’s objectives.
Experts at NIST will lead technical work on AI safety for the U.S. government. Building on existing work, they will develop industry standards for the safe and responsible development of frontier AI models, create test environments to evaluate these systems, and develop standards on privacy and on authenticating when content is AI-generated.
“Expanding on our wide-ranging efforts in AI, NIST will work with private and public stakeholders to carry out its responsibilities under the executive order," Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie Locascio said. "We are committed to developing meaningful evaluation guidelines, testing environments, and information resources to help organizations develop, deploy, and use AI technologies that are safe and secure, and that enhance AI trustworthiness.”
BIS will invoke the Defense Production Act to institute measures to enhance safety as next-generation frontier AI models are developed, including measures requiring developers to report the steps they are taking to test their models and protect them from theft. These measures build on the White House voluntary commitments on safety, security, and trust – and will promote the safe development and use of AI.
“AI technology is a powerful tool that can be both a force for good and potentially dangerous if developed and used unsafely or in the hands of malign actors,” said Under Secretary for Industry and Security Alan Estevez. “The Bureau of Industry and Security stands ready to develop the regulations and procedures mandated by today’s executive order that will enhance safety and protect our national security and foreign policy interests without hindering the ability for technological developments and trade to flourish.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released a statement regarding the Biden-Harris Administration Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence:
“The President has asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to play a critical role in ensuring that AI is used safely and securely. This is a top priority for our Department.
“The President’s Executive Order defines a seminal path for the safe and secure use of AI. It directs DHS to manage AI in critical infrastructure and cyberspace, promote the adoption of AI safety standards globally, reduce the risk of AI’s use to create weapons of mass destruction, combat AI-related intellectual property theft, and ensure our immigration system attracts talent to develop responsible AI in the United States.
"The AI Safety and Security Advisory Board, which I look forward to chairing, will bring together industry experts, leading academics, and government leaders to help guide the responsible development and safe deployment of AI.
“DHS is already deploying AI responsibly to achieve our missions, and this Executive Order will build on that leadership. In April 2023, I established the Department’s first AI Task Force to drive specific applications of AI and, since then, we have quickly developed guidance onthe acquisition and use of AI technology and the responsible use of face recognition technologies. I have also appointed the Department’s first Chief AI Officer to promote these efforts. As we continue this critical work, it will be centered on our commitment and responsibility to protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.”
DHS has published a fact sheet on how it is leading the responsible development of AI: www.dhs.gov/news/2023/10/30/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-executive-order-directs-dhs-lead-responsible.
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