OpenAI, Amazon and other AI companies commit to responsible development

Jul 21, 2023

Shannon Longworth Reporter

By Shannon Longworth (Reporter), Ryan Tiedgen (Editor)

Bias Distribution Powered by Ground News™

Seven of the top artificial intelligence (AI) companies have voluntarily agreed to develop their technology responsibly. They committed to focusing on “safety, security, and trust.”

Representatives from Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI met at the White House on Tuesday, July 18, to announce their commitments.

The companies agreed to several terms, including:

Internal and external security testing of their AI systems before their release.
Sharing information across the industry and with governments, civil society and academia on managing AI risks.
Facilitating third-party discovery and reporting of vulnerabilities in their AI systems.
Developing robust technical mechanisms to ensure that users know when content is generated by AI, such as a watermarking system.

The commitments are voluntary, so there is no guarantee that the companies will follow through. However, this agreement represents a step in the effort to ensure that AI is developed and used responsibly.

In May, the White House announced that the National Science Foundation would provide $140 million to launch seven National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes.

The White House also said that President Biden is working on an executive order and bipartisan legislation pertaining to AI.

“We’ll see more technology change in the next 10 years, or even in the next few years, than we’ve seen in the last 50 years,” Biden said on Friday, July 21. “That has been an astounding revelation to me, quite frankly. Artificial intelligence is going to transform the lives of people around the world. The group here will be critical in shepherding that innovation with responsibility and safety by design to earn the trust of Americans.”

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have been negotiating their approach to AI regulation. In June, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed his plan, called the SAFE framework, which lays out a path for Congress to come together on AI policy.

Tags: amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Chuck Schumer, Google, Joe Biden, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI

SHANNON LONGWORTH: SEVEN OF THE TOP AI COMPANIES HAVE VOLUNTARILY VOWED TO DEVELOP THEIR TECHNOLOGY RESPONSIBLY.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM AMAZON, ANTHROPIC, GOOGLE, INFLECTION, META, MICROSOFT, AND OPENAI, MET AT THE WHITE HOUSE THIS AFTERNOON TO ANNOUNCE THEY’VE AGREED TO FOCUS ON “SAFETY, SECURITY, AND TRUST.”

HERE ARE SOME OF THE SPECIFIC TERMS THEY COMMITTED TO:

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SECURITY TESTING OF THEIR SYSTEMS BEFORE RELEASE.

SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT MANAGING THEIR AI RISKS WITH OTHER COMPANIES AND THE GOVERNMENT.

FACILITATING THIRD-PARTY REPORTS OF THEIR SYSTEMS’ VULNERABILITIES.

DEVELOPING MECHANISMS–LIKE A WATERMARK–TO MAKE SURE USERS KNOW WHEN CONTENT IS AI-GENERATED.

WE DON’T HAVE DETAILS YET—LIKE WHO WILL DO THE THIRD-PARTY WORK REQUIRED TO OVERSEE SOME OF THESE PROCESSES. ALSO, THIS IS A *VOLUNTARY* COMMITMENT, SO NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS IF THESE COMPANIES FALL SHORT OF THE TERMS.

HOWEVER, THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THESE COMPANIES VOLUNTARILY AGREED TO SAFEGUARDS IS A STEP AFTER MONTHS OF DEBATE OVER REGULATING AI WITH LEGISLATION. MUCH OF THE CONCERN HAS TO DO WITH THE POTENTIAL RISKS THAT COME WITH AI—INCLUDING BIAS, DISCRIMINATION AND JOB DISPLACEMENT.

JOE BIDEN: “WE’LL SEE MORE TECHNOLOGY CHANGE IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS, OR EVEN IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, THAN WE’VE SEEN IN THE LAST 50 YEARS. THAT HAS BEEN AN ASTOUNDING REVELATION TO ME, QUITE FRANKLY. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS GOING TO TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. THE GROUP HERE WILL BE CRITICAL IN SHEPHERDING THAT INNOVATION WITH RESPONSIBILITY AND SAFETY BY DESIGN TO EARN THE TRUST OF AMERICANS.”

LONGWORTH: THIS IS THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S LATEST MOVE ON AI. IN MAY, THE WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCED THAT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION WOULD PROVIDE $140 MILLION TO LAUNCH SEVEN NATIONAL AI RESEARCH INSTITUTES. THE WHITE HOUSE SAID, IN A PRESS RELEASE, THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN IS ALSO WORKING ON AN EXECUTIVE ORDER AND BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION PERTAINING TO AI.

ON THE HILL, LAWMAKERS HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATING THEIR APPROACH. LAST MONTH, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER PROPOSED HIS PLAN, CALLED THE SAFE FRAMEWORK, WHICH LAYS OUT A PATH FOR CONGRESS TO COME TOGETHER ON AI POLICY.