White House presses Government AI use with eye on security, guardrails

Biden administration unveils AI plans for national security, emphasizing values like privacy and civil rights in federal government use.

The Biden administration on Thursday (October 24, 2024) unveiled plans to push artificial intelligence across the Federal Government for national security while saying its adoption must still reflect values such as privacy and civil rights.

In a memo, the White House directed U.S. agencies "to improve the security and diversity of chip supply chains ... with AI in mind." It also prioritizes the collection of information on other countries' operations against the U.S. AI sector and passing that intelligence along quickly to AI developers to help keep their products secure.

Also Read: U.S. mom sues Character.AI, Google after teen son ends life interacting with chatbot

But such efforts must also protect human rights and democratic values, it added.

The directive is the latest move by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to address AI as Congress' efforts to regulate the emerging technology have stalled.

Next month, it will convene a global safety summit in San Francisco. Mr. Biden last year signed an executive order aimed at limiting the risks that AI poses to consumers, workers, minority groups and national security.

Generative AI can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts, inspiring both excitement over its potential as well as fears that its could be misused and potentially overpower humans with catastrophic effects.