President Biden’s sweeping executive order on artificial intelligence, expected to be issued Monday afternoon, could greatly shape how AI evolves as it extends its tentacles into the U.S. economy and national security.
The technology is considered a top priority by the Biden administration. “We can’t move at a normal government pace,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said, echoing the president’s thoughts. “We have to move as fast, if not faster than the technology itself.” The executive order builds upon a set of voluntary commitments signed by 15 companies, including OpenAI, Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL, +1.88% GOOG, +1.93% Google, Nvidia Corp. NVDA, +1.09% and Adobe Inc. ADBE, +3.82%, that require the firms to develop technology to identify AI-generated images and include a vow to share data about safety with the government and academics.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hosted his second AI Insight Forum, which is expected to serve as the foundation for his bipartisan effort to rein in artificial intelligence.Attendee Evan Smith, chief executive of Altana Technologies, one of about 20 technology leaders, venture capitalists, academics and privacy experts at the three-and-a-half-hour meeting, characterized it as a constructive approach to balancing AI innovation with safety and security.