OpenAI, Google, others pledge to watermark AI content for safety, says White House

AI companies commit to watermarking AI-generated content to make tech safer. Biden administration seeks to regulate tech and Schumer calls for legislation. Companies pledge to test systems, share information and focus on privacy, bias and scientific solutions. Watermark to spot deep-fakes & protect users.

Top AI companies including OpenAI, Alphabet and Meta Platforms have made voluntary commitments to the White House to implement measures such as watermarking AI-generated content to help make the technology safer, the Biden administration said on Friday.

The companies — which also include Anthropic, Inflection, Amazon.com and OpenAI partner Microsoft — pledged to thoroughly test systems before releasing them and share information about how to reduce risks and invest in cybersecurity.

The move is seen as a win for the Biden administration's effort to regulate the technology which has experienced a boom in investment and consumer popularity.

Since generative AI, which uses data to create new content like ChatGPT's human-sounding prose, became wildly popular this year, lawmakers around the world began considering how to mitigate the dangers of the emerging technology to national security and the economy.

U.S. Senate Majority Chuck Schumer, who has called for "comprehensive legislation" to advance and ensure safeguards on artificial intelligence, praised the commitments on Friday and said he would continue working to build and expand on those.

The Biden administration said it would work to establish an international framework to govern the development and use of AI, according to the White House.

Congress is considering a bill that would require political ads to disclose whether AI was used to create imagery or other content.