The US White House announced on Thursday a $140 million investment from the National Science Foundation (NAIR) to launch 7 new national artificial intelligence research institutes. This will bring the total number of AI facilities to 25 nationwide.
"Today, the (President Joe) Biden administration is announcing new measures that will promote responsible U.S. innovation in artificial intelligence and protect people's rights and safety," said a press release highlighting the new funding.
"These steps are aimed at ensuring that technology improves the lives of the American people, and opens new avenues in the federal government's ongoing efforts to promote a coherent and comprehensive approach to the risks and opportunities related to AI."
The statement revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris and senior management met with the CEOs of four leading companies in the field of artificial intelligence innovations, namely Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI.
The aim of the meetings, according to the statement, was to "emphasize the responsibility of these companies and the importance of driving responsible and trustworthy ethical innovation, with safeguards that mitigate potential risks and harms to individuals and society."
"This is a very powerful technology, and I think for federal workers in particular, it's an opportunity to show how serving the public can be a place to lead in using AI wisely and responsibly," a senior administration official said.
"The vast implications of this new generation of AI will require responsible behaviour on all sides. "Obviously there will be things we are doing and we will continue to do in government, but we believe these companies have an important responsibility."
Biden administration believes AI companies have a social responsibility to adhere to (French)
Access to cybersecurity experts
The White House is also working to rally the support of government cybersecurity experts to ensure that leading AI companies have access to best practices, including protecting AI models and networks.
The new approach to "Responsible AI" will take into account 3 sectors: new investments to support research and development in "Responsible American AI", public assessments of existing generative AI systems, and policies that will ensure that the U.S. government leads by example in mitigating AI risks and leveraging its benefits.
In addition, other measures have been taken to protect American citizens in the age of artificial intelligence.
"In February, President Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eradicate bias in their design and use of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, and to protect the public from algorithmic discrimination," the statement noted.
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission, the Financial Consumer Protection Office, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division issued a joint statement affirming their collective commitment to leverage their existing legal powers to protect the American people from AI-related harms.
Also this week, FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan pledged that the agency would be vigilant in monitoring "unfair or deceptive" uses of artificial intelligence.
Rep. Yvette Clark (D-NY) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require political groups or campaigns to disclose the use of AI-generated content in political advertising.
This comes on the heels of the US Republican National Committee launching its first ad with AI-generated content.