ethicsai

New artificial intelligence regulations for the private sector now have to adhere to 10 principles recently released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as part of the American AI Initiative. This initiative comes as a departure from the White House’s previous position on artificial intelligence, which was to let it grow without much government interference; it now aims to form a strong national strategy on AI. Other countries’ (including China’s) investment in AI likely prompted the shift, as well as a desire to keep the United States in the lead in artificial intelligence. The principles aim to “ensure public engagement, limit regulatory overreach,” and “promote trustworthy AI that is fair, transparent, and safe,” according to the article by MIT Technology Review. New AI regulations must be submitted to OSTP with an explanation of how they satisfy the following principles, with the explanation provided by the article:

1. Public trust in AI: “The government must promote reliable, robust, and trustworthy AI applications.” 
2. Public participation: “The public should have a chance to provide feedback in all stages of the rule-making process.”
3. Scientific integrity and information quality: “Policy decisions should be based on science.”
4. Risk assessment and management. “Agencies should decide which risks are and aren’t acceptable.”
5. Benefits and costs: “Agencies should weigh the societal impacts of all proposed regulation.”
6. Flexibility: “Any approach should be able to adapt to rapid changes and updates to AI applications.”
7. Fairness and nondiscrimination: “Agencies should make sure AI systems don’t discriminate illegally.”
8. Disclosure and transparency: “The public will trust AI only if it knows when and how it is being used.”
9. Safety and security: “Agencies should keep all data used by AI systems safe and secure.”
10. Interagency coordination: “Agencies should talk to one another to be consistent and predictable in AI-related policies.”

The emphasis placed on fair, trustworthy, and secure AI by the principles will hopefully encourage agencies to regulate emerging AI more carefully.