Biden Issues Executive Order on AI

President Joseph R. Biden has issued an executive order that establishes "new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world," and more, the White House said.

Among other stipulations, the order directs the following actions:

• Require that developers of the most powerful AI systems share their safety test results and other critical information with the U.S. government
• Develop standards, tools, and tests to help ensure that AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy
• Protect against the risks of using AI to engineer dangerous biological materials by developing strong new standards for biological synthesis screening
• Protect Americans from AI-enabled fraud and deception by establishing standards and best practices for detecting AI-generated content and authenticating official content.
• Establish an advanced cybersecurity program to develop AI tools to find and fix vulnerabilities in critical software, building on the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing AI Cyber Challenge
• Order the development of a National Security Memorandum that directs further actions on AI and security, to be developed by the National Security Council and White House Chief of Staff

In response to Biden's executive order, the National Endowment for the Humanities has launched a new agency-wide initiative called Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence, which will support research projects that seek to understand and address the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI.