Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On May 4, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to promote responsible American innovation in artificial intelligence (“AI”). The Administration also met with the CEOs of Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI as part of the Administration’s broader, ongoing effort to engage with advocates, companies, researchers, civil right organizations, not-for-profit organizations, communities, international partners, and others on critical AI issues. These efforts build upon the steps the Administration has taken so far, including the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (“OSTP”) and the  AI Risk Management Framework released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”). The Administration is also actively working to address national security concerns raised by AI, especially in critical areas like cybersecurity, biosecurity and safety. 

The Administration’s new actions include:

• New investments to power responsible American AI research and development (“R&D”). The National Science Foundation announced $140 million in funding to launch seven new National AI Research Institutes, bringing the total number of Institutes to 25 across the country. These Institutes will promote responsible innovation and bolster America’s AI R&D infrastructure as well as support the development of a diverse AI workforce. In addition, the new Institutes announced they will advance AI R&D to drive breakthroughs in critical areas, including climate, agriculture, energy, public health, education and cybersecurity. 

• Public assessments of existing generative AI systems. The Administration announced an independent commitment from leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Stability AI, to participate in a public evaluation of AI systems at the AI Village at DEFCON 31. This will allow these models to be evaluated thoroughly by community partners and AI experts to explore how the models align with the principles and practices outlined in the Administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and AI Risk Management Framework. This independent exercise will provide critical information to researchers and the public about the impacts of these models, and will enable AI companies and developers to take steps to fix issues found in those models.

• Policies to ensure the U.S. government is leading by example on mitigating AI risks and harnessing AI opportunities. The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) announced that it will be releasing draft policy guidance on the use of AI systems by the U.S. government for public comment this summer. This guidance will establish specific policies for federal departments and agencies to follow in order to ensure their development, procurement, and use of AI systems will safeguard the American people’s rights and safety. The guidance will also serve as a model for state and local governments, businesses and others to follow in their own procurement and use of AI.