The Biden administration on Thursday outlined plans for the US government to develop and use artificial intelligence to improve national security while managing its risks.
A White House memo directed federal agencies to “improve the security and diversity of chip supply chains…with AI in mind.” It also prioritizes gathering information about other countries’ operations against the US AI sector and quickly transmitting that information to AI developers to help keep their products safe.
“We have to get this right, because there is probably no other technology that will be more critical to our national security in the coming years,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in remarks at the National Defense University in Washington.
“We have to be faster in deploying AI and our national security enterprise than America’s rivals are in theirs,” he added. “If we do not deploy AI more quickly and completely to strengthen our national security, we risk squandering our hard-earned advantage.”
The effort aims to balance the need for fair competition and open markets while protecting privacy, human rights and ensuring AI systems do not undermine U.S. national security, Sullivan added, even when competitors do not. They are subject to the same principles as the United States.
The directive is the latest move by US President Joe Biden’s administration to address AI, as congressional efforts to regulate the emerging technology have stalled.
More context: OpenAI seeks contracts to provide its services to the US Defense
US authorities urge mitigation of AI risks
Next month, he will convene a global security summit in San Francisco. Last year, Biden signed an executive order aimed at limiting the risks posed by AI to consumers, workers, minority groups and national security.
Generative AI can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts, inspiring both excitement about its potential and fears that it could be misused and potentially overpower humans to catastrophic effects.
The rapid evolution of technology has led governments around the world to seek to regulate the AI industry, which is led by tech giants such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), OpenAI (new tab platform), Google and Amazon ( of Alphabet) and dozens of startups.
While Thursday’s memo pushed for governments to use it, it also requires U.S. agencies to “monitor, evaluate and mitigate AI risks related to invasions of privacy, bias and discrimination, the safety of individuals and groups and other human rights abuses.”
It also calls for a framework for Washington to work with allies to ensure that AI “is developed and used in ways that respect international law and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
With information from Reuters.
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