On June 20, 2023, President Joe Biden convened a group of technology leaders in San Francisco, CA to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence and large language models. The president acknowledged the rapid pace of technological change, particularly in AI, as well as the associated risks. With Large Language Model tools like ChatGPT showing the potential of AI, Biden’s administration is keen to regulate this emergent field to encourage its potential for economic growth and national security while mitigating potential dangers such as job displacement and misinformation. The White House is now actively developing a set of actions to address the possible risks of AI.
The concern shown by the White House makes a reference to the safety and privacy risks inherent to the public usage of AI and LLM tools and compares the issue to the regulatory framework needed and implemented around social networks.
The Biden administration is seeking to figure out how to regulate the emergent field of AI, looking for ways to nurture its potential for economic growth and national security and protect against its potential dangers. The topics of discussion included AI’s potential to drive technological change, increase productivity, and create economic growth, but also the risks associated with AI, such as job displacement, the creation of disinformation, and potential threats to democratic elections.
In addition to Biden’s concerns expressed during this event, the government is keen on getting commitments from private companies to address possible risks from AI. For instance, the President’s chief of staff’s office is developing a set of actions the federal government can take over the coming weeks regarding AI, with top officials meeting two to three times each week on this issue.
Regulatory concerns are not new. Just recently, The US Congress held a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law on the topic of Artificial Intelligence. The Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) invited personalities such as Sam Altman (OpenAI), Christina Montgomery (IBM), and Gary Marcus (New York University), who gave testimony on their points of view on the regulation of AI technologies. The hearing took place on May 2023.