President Biden is scheduled to meet with science and technology advisers on Wednesday to discuss the potential risks and benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for Americans and national security. According to a White House official, the President’s focus will be on the importance of protecting individual rights and safety while promoting responsible innovation.
During the meeting, Biden is expected to call on Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that safeguards children’s privacy and limits the personal data collected by tech companies. The meeting will be attended by members of the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), a federal advisory committee of external experts tasked with providing recommendations on science, technology, and innovation policy to the White House. The committee is chaired by Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
AI has become a topic of intense discussion in recent weeks due to the rollout of chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. While these chatbots have sparked conversations about how AI can make people’s lives easier, there have also been concerns about their ethical implications.
For instance, after the release of AI art apps, artists claimed their work had been stolen, and some even took legal action. Notably, Twitter CEO Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and other tech industry leaders signed a letter calling for a six-month pause to related developments, citing the “profound risks to society and humanity.”
Moreover, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently urged countries to adopt its global ethical framework, following pleas by over a thousand tech workers to pause the training of the most powerful AI systems.
Last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the Biden administration is conducting a comprehensive process to ensure a coherent federal government approach to AI-related risks and opportunities, emphasizing the need for appropriate prudence and safety. She did not disclose whether the administration would urge lawmakers to federally regulate AI.
