Tech firms commit to White House AI safety pledge.
Eight more major tech firms involved in artificial intelligence (AI) development have recently signed the White House’s AI safety pledge.
The White House made the announcement on September 12th, revealing that these firms have voluntarily committed to following standards for safety, security, and transparency in their use of AI.
The new signatories include Adobe, IBM, Palantir, Nvidia, Salesforce, Stability AI, Cohere, and Scale AI. They join the likes of Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection AI, Microsoft, and OpenAI, who signed the pledge back in July.
The Biden administration initiated an industry-led effort on AI safeguards with tech companies during the summer.
All of the signatories have committed to AI testing and other security measures, but these are all voluntary and not regulations that can be enforced by the government.
Potential Threats Concern Washington
The rapid advancements in AI have become a major concern in Washington since OpenAI released its ChatGPT chatbot last year.
Lawmakers are scrutinizing AI for its potential threat to certain jobs, its ability to spread disinformation, create deep fakes, and even develop self-awareness.
Many lawmakers and regulators are engaged in ongoing debates on how to handle this technology.
The White House stated that the firms who joined the initiative have agreed to ensure the safety of their AI products before making them public, prioritize security, and earn the trust of the public.
In addition to these voluntary commitments, the Biden administration is working on an executive order with the same goals and encouraging legislative efforts in Congress to regulate AI.
“The President has been clear: harness the benefits of AI, manage the risks, and move fast—very fast,” said Chief of Staff Jeff Zients in a statement regarding the latest pledges. “And we are doing just that by partnering with the private sector and pulling every lever we have to get this done.”
The tech companies have also agreed to share information on potential dangers associated with AI technology and develop mechanisms to inform consumers when content is generated by AI.
“These commitments represent an important bridge to government action, and are just one part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive approach to seizing the promise and managing the risks of AI,” stated the White House.
Congress Acts to Regulate AI
The White House’s move coincides with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hosting an AI forum on September 13th, as reported by Axios.
The closed-door AI summit will include CEOs from major tech companies, lawmakers, labor officials, and representatives from non-governmental organizations.
Among the tech executives attending Senator Schumer’s summit are Elon Musk of X, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Sundar Pichai of Google, according to The New York Times.
Several bills aimed at regulating AI are currently pending in Congress, including the Artificial Intelligence and Biosecurity Risk Assessment Act and the No Robot Bosses Act.
In July, Axios reported that Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) was preparing to introduce his own bill, the Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Accountability Act, which would require companies to self-certify their AI systems and inform consumers when their platforms are using generative AI.
Under Senator Thune’s proposal, the Commerce Department would take civil action against any noncompliant company that fails to remedy the situation.
The No Robot Bosses Act, introduced by Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), seeks to prohibit employers from making employment decisions solely based on algorithms, machine learning, and other AI tools. The bipartisan Artificial Intelligence and Biosecurity Risk Assessment Act would require regulators to monitor the risks associated with AI advancements and its potential use in developing lethal pathogens.
On September 12th, Microsoft President Brad Smith and Nvidia’s chief scientist William Dally testified about AI regulations in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, led by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
Big Tech Seeks Self Regulation
The series of pledges demonstrates the growing momentum among Big Tech firms to establish voluntary industry standards before government intervention.
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