Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday told the heads of Google, Microsoft and other companies that they’re responsible for the safety and security of artificial-intelligence products, as AI increasingly draws Washington’s scrutiny.
Harris hosted a White House meeting with the chief executives of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp., Anthropic and OpenAI. President Joe Biden briefly attended, according to a White House pool report.
Ahead of the meeting, the administration announced a new investment in “trustworthy” AI as well as voluntary commitments from major technology companies to participate in a public assessment of their AI systems at an upcoming cybersecurity conference.
“As I shared today with CEOs of companies at the forefront of American AI innovation, the private sector has an ethical, moral, and legal responsibility to ensure the safety and security of their products,” Harris said in a statement. “And every company must comply with existing laws to protect the American people. I look forward to the follow through and follow up in the weeks to come.”
Alphabet
GOOG,
GOOGL,
CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft
MSFT,
CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei all attended.
In a separate comment, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said: “It is critical that as we grapple with artificial intelligence, we should seek to invest in American ingenuity; solidify American innovation and leadership; enhance our national security; ensure it’s done in a responsible and transparent manner.”
“The president has been extensively briefed on ChatGPT and knows how it works,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “I haven’t asked about his thoughts on it. But, look, this is something that’s important to the president. This is why he has had continuing engagement on this issue.”
The promise and potential peril of AI prompted Thursday’s meeting as federal lawmakers increasingly contend with the blur-fast success and adoption of ChatGPT. An administration official cautioned in a Wednesday briefing that a “broad set of risks that need to be grappled with” that could eviscerate jobs, lead to a flow of disinformation, and disrupt democratic institutions and civil rights.
“As new tools hit the market, the extraordinary opportunities that AI presents are coming more into focus,” the official said. “But as is true with all technologies, we know there are some serious risks.”
Administration officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Arati Prabhakar, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, also attended the Thursday meeting.
