“White House Meets with CEOs of U.S. AI Companies to Discuss Risks and Safeguards”

Faced with the euphoria and fears aroused by artificial intelligence, the Biden administration does not intend to confine itself to a role of spectator. This Thursday, March 4, Vice President Kamala Harris and senior administration officials met with the CEOs of four U.S. companies at the forefront of AI innovation to share their concerns about the risks associated with these technologies. President Biden even popped into this meeting to point out that companies have “the fundamental responsibility to ensure that their products are safe and secure before they are deployed or released to the public”.

The White House received Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft and the lesser known Dario Amodei, CEO of the start-up Anthropic. The government has let these businessmen know that “to realize the benefits that could arise from advances in AI, it is imperative to mitigate the current and potential risks that AI poses to individuals, society and national security”. These include risks to safety, security, human and civil rights, privacy, jobs and democratic values.

Given the role these CEOs and their companies play in the U.S. AI innovation ecosystem, administration officials also stressed the importance of their leadership, calling on them to behave responsibly and formulate measures to ensure responsible innovation and appropriate safeguards. The White House also refers to discussions on three key areas: “the need for companies to be more transparent about their AI systems”the importance of “be able to assess, verify and validate the safety, security and effectiveness of AI systems”and finally “the need to ensure that AI systems are protected against malicious actors and attacks”.

In Europe, an AI Act in the making

According to the White House, administration officials and CEOs agreed that more work was needed to develop and provide appropriate safeguards and protections, and “CEOs pledged to continue to engage with the administration to ensure that the American people can benefit from AI innovation”. The meeting was part of a broader roadmap of the US government, which includes measures such as adopting some kind of guide to good practice in AI or the establishment of a national resource of AI research. To date, it does not seem that a legislative adaptation is under study in the United States, unlike the Artificial Intelligence Act prepared by Europe.

“As I shared today with the 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 productssaid Kamala Harris after the meeting. And every company must comply with existing laws to protect the American people. I look forward to a follow-up in the weeks to come.”.

Recall that the CEO of OpenAI, the company to which we owe ChatGPT, was also to meet with Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of Economy and Finance, this Friday, May 5.