President Joe Biden on Oct. 30 issued an Executive Order—a new framework of safety, security and privacy standards governing artificial intelligence (AI) designed to manage the fledgling technology.
The executive order came after Santa Cruz County in September became one of the first jurisdictions in the U.S. to establish a set of AI rules.
“President Biden is to be commended for developing a set of guidelines that protects consumers and the American people, including our civil rights,” Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend said, who attended the signing in Washington, D.C. “The new guidelines also harness the potential of AI and, much like Santa Cruz County’s guidelines, will help foster the responsible use of AI within the workforce.”
In a press release, the White House said the executive order “advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world.”
“Without safeguards, AI can put Americans’ privacy further at risk,” the press release says. “AI not only makes it easier to extract, identify and exploit personal data, but it also heightens incentives to do so because companies use data to train AI systems.”
In addition, the order requires AI developers to share safety test results and other information with the U.S. government, in particular technology that could pose a threat to national security.
Government officials will also monitor AI’s potential threats to critical infrastructure, as well as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and cybersecurity risks.
The new rules will also help protect from AI-enabled fraud and deception, and limit how federal agencies can collect and use information from commercial data brokers.
In a press release, Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said the order “recognizes the potential growth of AI into numerous areas of society.”This includes healthcare, education, industry and housing, among other things.
For information, visit AI.gov.
