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Safety and security of AI for US citizens

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By Mercy Kelani

US government organized a meeting with CEOs of major tech companies.

According to the White House, the Federal Government of the United States (US) is set to enact policies that will manage federal agencies’ procurement and usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This action is likely to largely influence the market for newly designed products, while controlling the interactions of Americans with AI on government websites, security checkpoints and other AI-concerned settings. The National Science Foundation is also budgeted to spend $140 million on promotion of research and development.

The funds provided by the NSF will be implemented in creation of research centers that seek the applications to issues concerning climate change, public health and agriculture. The plan was discussed during Vice President Kamala Harris and other administration officials’ meeting with CEOs of Google, ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic. The meeting was organized to emphasize the significance of ethical and responsible development of the technology. It also discussed the risks and benefits of these newly developed .

Tech companies are responsible for safety and security of their products.

A senior official of the Biden administration, before the meeting, said that tech companies have a fundamental responsibility to ensure the safety and security of their products, and their ability to protect the rights of people before deployment into the general public. Administration officials highlighted potential risks faced by the public upon massive adoption of the new tools. These risks include deepfakes and misinformation created by the technology that has the ability to tamper with the democratic process.

A list of concerns of the White House also include job losses associated with rising automation, physical dangers released by autonomous vehicles, biased algorithmic decision-making and the threat of malicious hackers powered by AI. The White House affirmed that to be beneficiaries of the good of artificial intelligence, it is necessary to ensure mitigation of current and likely risks which this technology poses to individuals, society and national security. V. P. Harris also emphasized the ethical, moral and legal responsibility of companies to ensure safety of their products.

Meta says AI is its single largest investment.

In a statement, the vice president stated that collectively, governments, private companies and other societal organizations must address the challenges. The federal government is dedicated to carrying out its responsibility, which includes advancement of potential new regulations and support of legislation. This is to ensure that technological innovations is beneficial to everyone. Massive transparency from tech companies, including public accessibility to assess and evaluate the products, is significant to ensuring safety and trustworthiness of new systems.

Of all representatives of tech companies present at the meeting, Meta, Facebook’s parent, was absent. According to CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, AI development is the single largest investment of the company and will be integrated into all Meta’s products. However, a ChatGPT-like tool is not among what it offers among its services. The meeting is the most recent expression of concern by the federal government to speedy development and deployment of these tools and ways of tackling associated risks.

European officials to issue artificial intelligence legislation.

Commerce Department, earlier this year, published voluntary risk management guidelines for the industry. It asserted that these guidelines could assist organizations and businesses in governing, mapping, measuring and managing the potential dangers in each phase of the development cycle. Last month, the department stated that it was seeking public input on the best policies for regulation of artificial intelligence which include audits and industry self-regulation. Asides the US government, European officials are also working on issuing AI legislation that could have major impacts on these companies across the world.


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