The EU, US, and UK Government’s Artificial Intelligence (AIA) Laws: Towards Responsible Testing and Accuracy
The changes will remove barriers to the use of artificial intelligence in federal agencies, a move that may facilitate more responsible experimentation. The technology has the chance to help agencies review damage from natural disasters, forecast extreme weather, map disease spread and control air traffic.
In November, the US joined the UK, China, and members of the EU in signing a declaration that acknowledged the dangers of rapid AI advances but also called for international collaboration. Harris in the same week revealed a nonbinding declaration on military use of AI, signed by 31 nations. There are some rudimentary guardrails and calls for the demise of systems that do not intend to do anything.
The agency that uses the Artificial Intelligence system must stop or justify it’s use if it can’t guarantee such safeguards. US agencies have a December 1 deadline to comply with the new requirements.
Countries around the world are moving to regulate AI. The EU approved its Artificial Intelligence Act, which regulates the creation and use of technologies, earlier this month. China is also trying to put in place comprehensive Artificial Intelligence regulation.
Vice President Harris will travel to the first global artificial intelligence summit in the UK next month. The draft was released in its final form Thursday after being open for public comment.
Each agency has to appoint a chief artificial intelligence officer to oversee implementation of the technology. And it outlines how the government is trying to grow the workforce focused on AI, including by hiring at least 100 professionals in the field by this summer.
The director of the OMB said that the public deserves confidence that the federal government will use the technology in a responsible manner.
Under the new guidance agencies are required to disclose how they are using artificial intelligence and the risks associated with it in an online inventory each year. That provision is “key,” Reeve Givens said.
The president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, Alex Reeve Givens told NPR that she still has questions about what testing is required for certain technology, who in the government has the skills to approve it, and so forth.
I believe this to be the first step. “After that there are detailed practice guides and expectations around what effective auditing looks like,” Givens said. “There’s a lot more work to be done.”
One of the next steps that Reeve Givens is eyeing is the guidance that the administration will release on the procurement process and what requirements will be in place for companies whose AI technology the government wants to buy.
She said that is the time when a lot of decisions and values can be made and a lot of testing can be done.
We can ask about what testing you did. What did that look like? She said there can be more eyes and more public scrutiny on use cases, but this gives us the opportunity to start a conversation.
Is Artificial Intelligence OK to Use? The OMB Guidance from Emory University and a Memo from the Biden Administration
The OMB guidance also sets out to encourage innovation through AI. Ifeoma Ajunwa, a law professor at Emory University, told NPR the guidance sends a signal to agencies that it’s OK to look into using AI technology.
Artificial intelligence is used by several government agencies, but a memo by the Biden administration shows how the technology can be used in a number of ways.