The White House is set to release several policy actions this summer, including executive orders, to regulate AI. This comes after the explosion of ChatGPT propelled artificial intelligence into the public consciousness, with AI industry leaders highlighting its revolutionary potential, but also warning of the risk of extinction from AI.
The urgency to regulate AI comes after the failure to regulate social media early on, urging White House officials to avoid repeating the same mistake. Furthermore, the leading AI companies, including Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, are calling on Washington to regulate their industry, with several legislative efforts already underway.
Steered by the White House chief of staff’s office, senior administration officials have been meeting two to three times a week to advance AI policy work since earlier this spring, tackling AI on multiple fronts, from misinformation and cybersecurity to economic transformation and equity.
To maximize the effect of existing regulations on AI, harness its potential, and establish new guardrails, the White House is looking into releasing executive orders this summer and creating an extensive inventory of government regulations that could be applied to AI while identifying where new regulations are needed to fill the gaps.
By next month, the leading AI companies are expected to announce privacy and safety commitments made in coordination with the White House, with the federal government employing appropriate methods to ensure companies live up to these commitments.
This summer, the Office of Management and Budget is also expected to release long-awaited guidance for federal agencies on the use and procurement of AI technologies, leveraging the federal government’s status as a large client to shape the industry.
The urgency to regulate AI is due to the fear surrounding the technology’s potential for change, with Joe Biden himself acknowledging that what you’re doing has enormous potential and enormous danger. This fear is what democratized and spread the concerns more visibly and broadly, causing the White House to take AI regulations more seriously.
Overall, the White House is building on their 73-page Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, released in October, as a foundation for the administration’s approach to AI policy while leaning on the risk management framework released earlier this year by the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.
