The executive order that President Joe Biden signed today concerning artificial intelligence is the federal government’s attempt to help regulate and place controls on this rapidly evolving technology.
The measure marks “the U.S. government’s most ambitious attempt to spur innovation and address concerns the burgeoning technology could exacerbate bias, displace workers and undermine national security,” according to the Washington Post.
Trying To Control A Fast-Growing Industry
The order is directed “at numerous government agencies to create regulations overseeing AI,” Eric von Vroys, an attorney who specializes in AI and intellectual property issues at the Shulman Rogers law firm.
It would also create “new standards to (among other things) safeguard data privacy and cybersecurity, strengthen national security, and administer governmental standards in order to try to control a fast-growing industry.”
But the executive order “is not a law. I haven’t heard that Congress has any plans to pass any similar laws,” he observed.
An Emphasis On Privacy And Civil Rights
“Perhaps the most significant contribution of the executive order is dedicating funding for research into privacy-preserving technologies with AI,” according to Jake Williams, a member of IANS research, a Boston-based cybersecurity and advisory firm, said via email.
“The Biden executive order makes it clear: privacy, equity, and civil rights in AI will be regulated. In the startup world of ‘move fast and break things,’ where technology often outpaces regulation, this executive order sends a clear message on the areas [where] startups should expect more regulation in the AI space,” he noted.
A Push For Global Cooperation
The measure “pushes for global cooperation in AI which is critically important,” James Hendler, chair of the Global Technology Policy Council of the Association for Computing Machinery.
“The UN has recently announced an international panel of experts looking at AI policy, including representatives of countries with many different types of government regimes, and this order should reinforce U.S. awareness of activities such as these,” he pointed out.
What’s Really Needed
“The U.S. lags behind the EU and even China in the regulation of AI,” Stephen J. Andriole, the Thomas G. Labrecque Professor of Business Technology at Villanova University’s School of Business, said via email.
“Executive orders are fine, but what’s required is a more comprehensive set of enforceable regulations that protects privacy and guards against misinformation and disinformation at the very least.
“While it’s great to try to show the private sector how to manage its approach to AI management, there’s not much evidence that voluntary commitments or self-governance work,” he concluded.