White House: AI firms pledge to tackle ‘bias and discrimination’
The Biden administration has announced exciting new voluntary commitments from seven major artificial intelligence (AI) companies, marking another significant milestone in the White House’s efforts to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving technology.
“This is pushing the envelope on what companies are doing and raising the standards for safety, security, and trust in AI,” a senior White House official told reporters on July 20.
President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with executives from these seven companies at the White House on July 21.
Specifically, he will engage in discussions with Brad Smith, president of Microsoft; Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Alphabet; Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic; Mustafa Suleyman, CEO and founder of Inflection AI; Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta and former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom; Greg Brockman, co-founder and president of OpenAI; and Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services.
A keyboard is seen reflected on a computer screen displaying the website of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot from OpenAI, in this illustration picture taken on Feb. 8, 2023. (Florence Lo/Reuters)
The participants’ voluntary commitments include a pledge to allow independent testing on AI systems before they are released to the general public.
This latest summit follows a previous meeting between Vice President Kamala Harris and leaders of various firms involved in AI products and services.
The rapid advancement of AI, exemplified by last year’s release of ChatGPT, has prompted the United States and other countries to scramble for regulations, primarily focused on safety.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) played a key role in coordinating a classified briefing on AI for senators at the White House on July 11.
The United Nations Security Council also held its first-ever meeting on AI regulation on July 18.
International Coordination
In its announcement of the voluntary commitments, the White House emphasized its coordination with other countries on AI risk.
These states include its Five Eyes partners—Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK—as well as Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, India, the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Kenya, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates.
China and Russia were noticeably absent from the list.
“I don’t think I want to get into the details of our diplomacy,” the White House official said when asked about the United States’ international efforts on AI.
The White House also indicated that President Biden will issue another executive order on AI, although no specific details were provided regarding its timing or content.
“We’re examining actions across agencies and departments given the cross-cutting nature of AI,” the White House official informed reporters.
“The president is very clear about his priorities: prioritizing equity, protecting consumers and workers, and safeguarding our national security,” the official added.
An AI cancer detection microscope by Google is seen during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2018 in Shanghai on Sep. 18, 2018. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Equity, which is distinct from equality, has been a consistent theme in the Biden administration’s approach to AI.
In an executive order on “racial equity” earlier this year, the president aimed to embed equity in all artificial intelligence and automated systems within the federal government.
The word “equity” appears a dozen times in the administration’s latest national strategic plan on AI research and development (pdf).
The previous plan released in 2019 under the Trump administration does not mention the word once (pdf).
Independent Testing
In May, the Department of Education published a report on AI that extensively discussed equity and the potential for algorithmic bias in automated digital systems.
“The department believes that biases in AI algorithms must be addressed when they introduce or perpetuate unjust discriminatory practices in education,” the report states, leaving open the question of whether some discriminatory practices in education are indeed just.
“AI systems and tools must align with our collective vision for high-quality learning, including equity,” it adds.
On June 20, the day after attending a Silicon Valley fundraiser for his reelection campaign hosted by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, President Biden met with tech leaders in San Francisco to discuss AI “bias and prejudice.”
LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, Calif. on March 30, 2011. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Participants in the meeting included Joy Buolamwin, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, and Jim Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media and brother of a billionaire mega-donor to De
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