Joe Biden aims to ensure AI systems are safe before their release

“My administration is committed to safeguarding Americans’ rights and safety while protecting privacy, to addressing bias and misinformation, to making sure AI systems are safe before they are released,” Reuters reported quoting Biden as saying at an event in San Francisco.

Biden said he was committed to “making sure AI systems are safe before they are released.”

The US president reiterated his calls for Congress to pass bipartisan privacy legislation.

“Social media has already shown us the harm that powerful technology can do without the right safeguards in place. That’s why I said in the State of Union that the Congress needs to pass bipartisan privacy legislation to impose strict limits on personal data collection, ban targeted advertising to our children, and require companies to put health and safety first,” Bloomberg reported quoting Biden.

The president further said Vice President Kamala Harris will next month convene civil rights and consumer protection groups to discuss AI concerns.

Several governments across the globe are considering how to mitigate the dangers of the emerging technology, which has experienced a boom in investment and consumer popularity in recent months after the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI.

Regulators across the globe have been gearing up to draw rules governing the use of generative AI, which can create text and images, the impact of which proponents compare to that from the arrival of the internet.

The Federal Trade Commission also said it is monitoring the use of artificial intelligence tools.

The US president is likely to discuss the topic with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his ongoing US visit. 

Recently, the US president had discussed the issue with other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who was on a state visit to the United States. The British government, who is organising first global summit on artificial intelligence safety later this year, agreed with the US government to work together on AI safety. 

“I don’t think ever in the history of human endeavour has there been as fundamental potential technological change as is presented by artificial intelligence. It is staggering,” Biden had added. 

(With inputes from agencies)

Updated: 21 Jun 2023, 03:28 AM IST