The White House yesterday proposed regulatory principles to govern the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) aimed at limiting authorities’ “overreach,” and said that it wants European officials to likewise avoid aggressive approaches.
In a fact sheet, the White House said that federal agencies should “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.”
The comments come at a time when companies are racing to integrate AI and deep machine learning into their businesses to remain competitive.
However, the technology raises ethical concerns about control, privacy, cybersecurity and the future of work, companies and experts have said.
US President Donald Trump’s administration said that agencies should “promote trustworthy AI” and “must consider fairness, non-discrimination, openness, transparency, safety and security.”
As an example, the White House cited the US Food and Drug Administration, which is considering how to regulate the use of AI and machine learning technologies by medical device manufacturers.
“Europe and our allies should avoid heavy-handed innovation-killing models,” the White House said. “The best way to counter authoritarian uses of AI is to make sure America and our international partners remain the global hubs of innovation.”
Last year, the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence issued a set of ethical guidelines and EU leaders are considering regulatory action.
Some US states have raised concerns about AI applications.
California’s legislature in September last year passed a three-year ban on state and local law enforcement using body cameras with facial-recognition software, the latest curb on technology that some say poses a threat to civil liberties.
Some US cities have also voted to bar facial-recognition technology by law enforcement.
US Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios, who will talk about the administration’s AI strategy at the CES trade show in Las Vegas later this week, said in a statement that the “principles set the nation on a path of continued AI innovation and discovery.”
In February last year, Trump signed an executive order for federal government agencies to dedicate more resources and investment to AI-related research, promotion and training.
A 2018 study from consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers said that 30 percent of jobs around the world are at risk of automation by the mid-2030s, including 44 percent of workers with low education.
The study also found automation could boost global gross domestic product by US$15 trillion by 2030.
The White House held a meeting on AI in 2018 with more than 30 major companies from a variety of industries, including Ford Motor, Boeing, Amazon.com and Microsoft, vowing not to stand in the way of the technology’s development.
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