Biden's New AI Initiatives Gain Significant Support

Nine months ago, President Biden issued a groundbreaking Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in harnessing the potential and managing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI). This order was built upon voluntary commitments received from 15 leading U.S. AI companies last year. Recently, Apple also signed onto these voluntary commitments, further solidifying them as pillars of responsible AI innovation. 
 
Furthermore, federal agencies reported on-time completion of all 270-day actions outlined in the Executive Order. They have also made progress on other tasks with longer timeframes. 
 
The Executive Order was followed by several calls to action by Vice President Harris during her major policy speech at the Global Summit on AI Safety. In response to this call for action, various government agencies have taken bold steps towards mitigating safety and security risks posed by AI, protecting Americans' privacy, promoting equity and civil rights, standing up for consumers and workers, fostering innovation and competition, and advancing American leadership globally, among others. 
 
One significant area where complete agency actions were reported is managing risks to safety and security. Over 270 days after the issuing of the executive order, agencies took comprehensive actions to address safety and security threats posed by AI by releasing important safety guidelines and building capacity for testing and evaluating AI systems. 
 
To boost national security as well as non-national security missions across all federal government departments via increased access to expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), over two hundred hires have been made under an initiative called 'AI Talent Surge'. Through partnerships such as those with the Presidential Innovation Fellows cohort dealing with artificial intelligence or the DHS Corps dedicated specifically to handling matters related to artificial intelligence, hundreds of professionals are now working within governmental institutions to advise on critical projects involving the use or investment of technologies powered by artificial intelligence. 
 
President Biden’s directive has led not only toward seizing opportunities provided through advancements in technology but also instilled a sense of responsibility when it comes to developing or using these innovative solutions, ensuring their wide acceptance across various sectors within our economy or society at large. 
 
Under the Executive Order, agencies have prepared a report on the potential benefits and risks of widely available dual-use foundation models. The Department of Commerce's report is based on extensive outreach to experts and stakeholders, including hundreds of public comments submitted on this topic. 
 
The administration has also made significant investments to promote responsible AI development across society. These include $30 million invested through NSF’s Experiential Learning in Emerging and Novel Technologies program, which supports inclusive experiential learning in fields like AI, and $10 million through NSF’s ExpandAI program, which helps build capacity in AI research at minority-serving institutions while fostering the development of a diverse, AI-ready workforce. 
 
To advance U.S. leadership globally on the issue of artificial intelligence (AI), federal agencies under President Biden's directive have issued comprehensive plans for engaging with international standards related to artificial intelligence technology while developing guidelines towards managing risks posed by these technologies against human rights, both within domestic borders and internationally, where the United States holds influence over global policies surrounding the use or deployment of such advanced technological solutions.