On May 4, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with the CEOs of OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and AI startup Anthropic with the assistance of nine of the Biden administration’s top advisers in science, national security, policy, and economics. However, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of tech giant Meta, was noticeably absent from the meeting. The White House had made several AI-related announcements before to the conference, including those relating to the funding of AI research centers, government AI policy, and the assessment of AI systems.
According to the notice, the meeting’s main topics were the openness of AI systems, the significance of assessing and confirming the safety of AI technology, and ensuring AI is not accessible to bad actors. Reportedly, the attendees agreed that the AI technology needs further development and safety precautions. The CEOs pledged to work with the White House to make sure that Americans “benefit from AI innovation.” However, there was no detailed mention regarding the required safeguards or the CEOs’ collaboration with the White House.
White House Plans For the Development of AI Technology
The Biden administration emphasized its efforts to address national security issues brought on by AI technology, focusing on cybersecurity and biosecurity, without getting into specifics. It claimed that by making these efforts, AI companies would “have access to best practices” for safeguarding their networks from state cybersecurity specialists from the “national security community.” The Biden Administration also announced that it would set aside $140 million to start seven additional national AI research centers, bringing the total number of such institutions nationwide to 25. The White House stated that “These Institutes strengthen America’s AI [research and development] infrastructure.” The institutes, it was said, would “drive breakthroughs” in fields like “climate, agriculture, energy, public health, education, and cybersecurity.” Finally, the White House announced that it would publish a draft strategy on how the American government will employ AI technology this summer and make it available for public feedback.
There will be a draft of policies governing the creation, application, and acquisition of AI technology by federal departments and agencies. According to the statement, state and local governments might use the policies as a guide when purchasing and implementing AI.
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