The United States has said it is working towards a world leading set of regulations to manage the risks around the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

US president Joe Biden met with leaders of seven major AI companies in the first step to create the regulations, with a pledge that the country was set to take the lead.

“Artificial intelligence promises an enormous promise of both risk to our society and our economy and our national security, but also incredible opportunities, incredible opportunities,” he said. “Just two months ago, Kamala [US vice president Kamala Harris] and I met with these leaders, to underscore the responsibility of making sure that products that they are producing are safe and making them public, what they are and what they aren’t.

“Since then, I’ve met with some of America’s top minds in technology to hear the range of perspectives and possibilities and risk of AI.”
He added over the past year, his administration has taken action to guide responsible innovation.

“Last October, we introduced a first-of-its-kind AI Bill of Rights,” Biden added. “In February, I signed an executive order to direct agencies to protect the public from algorithms that discriminate. In May, we unveiled a new strategy to establish seven new AI research institutes to help drive breakthroughs in responsible AI innovation.

“And today, I’m pleased to announce that these seven companies have agreed voluntary commitments for responsible innovation.  These commitments, which the companies will implement immediately, underscore three fundamental principles: safety, security, and trust.”
He explained: “First, the companies have an obligation to make sure their technology is safe before releasing it to the public.  That means testing the capabilities of their systems, assessing their potential risk, and making the results of these assessments public.

“Second, companies must prioritize the security of their systems by safeguarding their models against cyber threats and managing the risks to our national security and sharing the best practices and industry standards that are — that are necessary.

“Third, the companies have a duty to earn the people’s trust and empower users to make informed decisions — labelling content that has been altered or AI-generated, rooting out bias and discrimination, strengthening privacy protections, and shielding children from harm.
“And finally, companies have agreed to find ways for AI to help meet society’s greatest challenges,  from cancer to climate change, and invest in education and new jobs to help students and workers prosper from the opportunities, and there are enormous opportunities of AI.”

He continued: “These commitments are real, and they’re concrete.  They’re going to help the industry fulfil its fundamental obligation to Americans to develop safe, secure, and trustworthy technologies that benefit society and uphold our values and our shared values.”
“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.  And, quite frankly, as I met with world leaders, all the G7 is focusing on the same thing.

“Social media has shown us the harm that powerful technology can do without the right safeguards in place.”

Biden concluded: “We must be clear-eyed and vigilant about the threats emerging technologies t can pose, they don’t have to, but can pose, to our democracy and our values.

Americans are seeing how advanced artificial intelligence and the pace of innovation have the power to disrupt jobs and industries.
“These commitments are a promising step, but we have a lot more work to do together. Realising the promise of AI by managing the risk is going to require some new laws, regulations, and oversight.

“In the weeks ahead, I’m going to continue to take executive action to help America lead the way toward responsible innovation.  And we’re going to work with both parties to develop appropriate legislation and regulation.”

“As we advance the agenda here at home, we’ll lead work with our allies and partners on a common international framework to govern the development of AI.”