Biden’s AI Executive Order Isn’t Nearly Enough—But It’s a Good Start
On Monday, President Joe Biden issued the first executive order aimed at regulating artificial intelligence. The sweeping order requires that AI companies “share their safety test results and other critical information with the U.S. government,” with the aim that these models are “safe, secure, and trustworthy before companies make them public,” according to a White House statement.
The order also includes a number of measures to protect American consumers from AI-related fraud, while also safeguarding against potential dangers of the technology, including “watermarking to clearly label AI-generated content” and strengthening “privacy-preserving research and technologies.” Biden announced that the government will create “new standards” for AI that could someday be used to develop dangerous biological materials like viruses, diseases, and pathogens.
While some critics have noted that the wording on the executive order is vague, and there’s little in the way of how exactly this will play out, it still represents some of the most concrete and substantive policy in response to AI yet.