White House moves on AI, Biden calls on Congress to act

Oct 31, 2023

Shannon Longworth Anchor/Reporter

By Shannon Longworth (Anchor/Reporter), Dan Reardon (Video Editor)

Vice President Kamala Harris embarked on a trip to the United Kingdom for a summit on artificial intelligence hosted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Her visit follows President Joe Biden’s recent signing of an executive order on “safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence,” which marks the farthest-reaching move on AI at the federal level.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

The executive order outlined several key directives, including a call for the Department of Commerce to develop guidelines for clearly labeling content that is generated by AI. Additionally, it mandates that developers working on AI systems with the potential to pose national security risks must share safety test results with the government before making their technology publicly available.

The order also mentions funding research for technologies that protect individual privacy in an age of AI. President Biden stressed that the order’s primary objective is to safeguard fundamental rights, such as personal privacy, which can be at risk in the absence of appropriate safeguards.

While the executive order addresses numerous AI-related concerns, it is important to note that executive orders have limitations. For more comprehensive AI regulation, legislative action would be required. In this regard, President Biden has called upon Congress to take action.

The summit is scheduled to take place at Bletchley Park, a historic site. Notably, during World War II, a team of code breakers worked there, using early computing devices to decrypt Nazi messages. In addition to Vice President Harris, leading AI scientists and tech executives, including Elon Musk, will be in attendance.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, National Security, Privacy, Rishi Sunak, U.S. Congress, United Kingdom, User data

SHANNON LONGWORTH: VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS IS OFF TO THE UK TO DISCUSS AI’S FUTURE, JUST A DAY AFTER PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNED HIS EXECUTIVE ORDER ON IT.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: “WITH AI, FRAUDSTERS CAN TAKE 3-SECOND–AND YOU ALL KNOW THIS–3-SECOND RECORDING OF YOUR VOICE. I WATCHED ONE OF ME. I SAID ‘WHEN THE HELL DID I SAY THAT.’ BUT ALL KIDDING ASIDE, 3-SECONDS RECORDING OF YOUR VOICE AND GENERATE AN IMPERSONATION GOOD ENOUGH TO FOOL–I WAS GOING TO SAY YOUR FAMILY–FOOL YOU.”

LONGWORTH: CITING HIS CONCERNS ABOUT DEEPFAKES AND MORE, BIDEN ISSUED THE EXECUTIVE ORDER ON “SAFE, SECURE, AND TRUSTWORTHY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE” ON MONDAY.

IT’S THE FARTHEST-REACHING MOVE ON AI THAT WE’VE SEEN YET AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.

THE ORDER CALLS ON THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO PUT TOGETHER GUIDANCE FOR CLEARLY LABELING AI-GENERATED CONTENT.

IT ALSO REQUIRES DEVELOPERS WORKING ON AI THAT POSES A SERIOUS RISK TO NATIONAL SECURITY SHARE SAFETY TEST RESULTS WITH THE GOVERNMENT BEFORE MAKING THE TECH PUBLIC.

ANOTHER PIECE MENTIONS FUNDING RESEARCH FOR PRIVACY-PRESERVING TECHNOLOGIES.

BIDEN: “THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER IS ABOUT PROTECTING YOUR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, LIKE PRIVACY. WITHOUT SAFEGUARDS, AI COULD PUT YOUR PRIVACY AT GREATER RISK. THAT’S WHY I’VE CALLED FOR NEW PROTECTIONS ON YOUR PERSONAL DATA.”

LONGWORTH: THE ORDER GOES ON TO ADDRESS A NUMBER OF OTHER CONCERNS. BUT OF COURSE, EXECUTIVE ORDERS ARE LIMITED. THIS FOCUSES ON GUIDANCE FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND TECHNOLOGY THREATENING NATIONAL SECURITY. REGULATION WITH MORE TEETH WOULD NEED TO BE LEGISLATIVE, SO THE PRESIDENT CALLED ON CONGRESS TO ACT.

AS WORLD LEADERS SCRAMBLE TO ASSEMBLE GUIDANCE, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK IS HOSTING AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SUMMIT THIS WEEK. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE, ALONG WITH AI SCIENTISTS AND TECH EXECUTIVES, INCLUDING ELON MUSK

THE MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE AT BLETCHLEY PARK, A HISTORIC SITE LOCATED NORTH OF LONDON, WHERE A TEAM OF BRITISH CODE BREAKERS USED EARLY COMPUTING DEVICES TO DECRYPT NAZI MESSAGES DURING WORLD WAR II.