The following is a recent press release from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. They proposed 10 principles to guide federal regulation of AI technologies and applications. These draft principles will soon be open for public comment for 60 days (with a notice posted to the Federal Register).
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of Science and Technology Policy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2020White House Proposes U.S. AI Regulatory Principles
Today, the White House is proposing U.S. AI regulatory principles to govern the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the private sector. Through these 10 principles, developed as part of the American AI Initiative launched by President Trump, the United States is taking the lead to advance emerging technology in a way that reflects our values of freedom, human rights, and civil liberties.
Chief Technology Officer of the United States Michael Kratsios authored an op-ed in Bloomberg today explaining the significance of the regulatory principles: “AI That Reflects American Values.”
The U.S. AI regulatory principles are underpinned by three goals designed to drive AI innovation:
- Ensure Public Engagement: Regulators must base technical and policy decisions on scientific evidence and feedback from the American public, industry leaders, the academic community, non-profits, and civil society.
- Limit Regulatory Overreach: Regulators must conduct risk assessment and cost-benefit analyses prior to any regulatory action on AI, with a focus on establishing flexible frameworks rather than one-size-fits-all regulation.
- Promote Trustworthy AI: In deciding regulatory action related to AI, regulators must consider fairness, non-discrimination, openness, transparency, safety, and security.
The principles, to be delivered as a memorandum to federal agencies once finalized, will be open for public comment. When proposing any regulation on AI technologies in the private sector, agencies will have to demonstrate to the White House that the proposed regulations abide by the principles described in the memorandum.
“Building upon this Administration’s record of leadership in artificial intelligence, the U.S. AI regulatory principles set the Nation on a path of continued AI innovation and discovery. By reducing regulatory uncertainty for America’s innovators, increasing public input on regulatory decisions, and promoting trustworthy AI development, the principles offer the American approach to address the challenging technical and ethical issues that arise with AI technologies,” said Michael Kratsios, Chief Technology Officer of the United States.
“A first-of-its-kind document internationally, these principles show the United States leading the way among likeminded nations to shape the evolution of AI technology consistent with our common values of freedom, human rights, and civil liberties. We look forward to further engagement with the AI community, American public, and international partners to ensure the advancement of robust, reliable, and trustworthy AI technologies.”
Click here to view the memorandum online.
Visit AI.gov to learn more about the Trump Administration’s efforts in artificial intelligence.
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In 2019, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) released their completed AI Roadmap, titled A 20-Year Community Roadmap for AI Research in the US. An HTML version is available here. This roadmap, led by Yolanda Gil (University of Southern California and President of AAAI) and Bart Selman (Cornell University and President Elect of AAAI), is the result of a year long effort by the CCC and over 100 members of the research community.
