The administrator’s executive order aims at creating new guidelines for the security and safety of AI use. By applying the Defense Production Act, the order directs businesses to provide US regulators with safety test results and other crucial data whenever they are developing AI that could present a "serious risk" for US military, economic, or public security. However, it is still unclear who will be monitoring these risks and to what extent.
Nevertheless, prior to the public distribution of any such AI programs, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will shortly establish safety requirements that must be fulfilled.
In regards to the order, Ben Buchanan, the White House Senior Advisor for AI said, “I think in many respects AI policy is like running a decathlon, where we don’t get to pick and choose which events we do[…]We have to do safety and security, we have to do civil rights and equity, we have to do worker protections, consumer protections, the international dimension, government use of AI, [while] making sure we have a competitive ecosystem here.”
“Probably some of [order’s] most significant actions are [setting] standards for AI safety, security, and trust. And then require that companies notify us of large-scale AI development, and that they share the tests of those systems in accordance with those standards[…]Before it goes out to the public, it needs to be safe, secure, and trustworthy,” Mr. Buchanan added.
A Long Road Ahead
In an announcement made by President Biden on Monday, he urged Congress to enact bipartisan data privacy legislation to “protect all Americans, especially kids,” from AI risks.
While several US states like Massachusetts, California, Virginia, and Colorado have agreed on passing the legislation, the US however lacks comprehensive legal safeguards akin to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
GDPR, enacted in 2018, severely limits how businesses can access the personal data of their customers. If they are found to be violating the law, they may as well face hefty fines.
However, according to Sarah Kreps, professor of government and director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, the White House's most recent requests for data privacy laws "are unlikely to be answered[…]Both sides concur that action is necessary, but they cannot agree on how it should be carried out."