Harris meets with CEOs about artificial intelligence risks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris met on Thursday with the heads of Google, Microsoft and two other companies developing artificial intelligence as the Biden administration rolls out initiatives meant to ensure the rapidly evolving technology improves lives without putting people's rights and safety at risk.

The Democratic administration announced an investment of $140 million to establish seven new AI research institutes.

In addition, the White House Office of Management and Budget is expected to issue guidance in the next few months on how federal agencies can use AI tools. There is also an independent commitment by top AI developers to participate in a public evaluation of their systems in August at the Las Vegas hacker convention DEF CON.

The Thursday meeting was designed for Harris and administration officials to discuss the risks they see in current AI development with the CEOs of Google, Microsoft and two influential startups they support: Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google-backed Anthropic. The government leaders' message to the companies is that they have a role to play in reducing the risks and that they can work together with the government.

Authorities in the United Kingdom also said Thursday they are looking at the risks associated with AI. Britain’s competition watchdog said it's opening a review of the AI market, focusing on the technology underpinning chatbots like ChatGPT, which was developed by OpenAI.

President Joe Biden noted last month that AI can help to address disease and climate change but also could harm national security and disrupt the economy in destabilizing ways. Biden also stopped by the event Thursday. He has been “extensively briefed” on ChatGPT, seen how it works and has even experimented with the tool, according to a...