Biden to unveil "sweeping" action to reduce AI risks

Washington DC - President Joe Biden will unveil "sweeping" action on Monday aimed at regulating the use of artificial intelligence in an effort to reduce risks associated with the emerging technology, the White House said.

President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order to regulate the use of artificial technology.
President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order to regulate the use of artificial technology.  © SAUL LOEB / AFP

The White House said Biden would sign an executive order setting new safety standards for AI systems and requiring developers to share results of safety tests with the US government.

The order will also seek to protect against the risk of AI being used to develop dangerous biological materials, and stop it from being used to defraud consumers.

The order marks "the most sweeping actions ever taken to protect Americans from the potential risks of AI systems," the White House said in a statement.

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Vice President Kamala Harris is set to travel to the UK this week for a global leaders' gathering on AI, alongside other foreign politicians, tech industry figures, and academics.

The gathering – which will focus on growing fears about the implications of so-called frontier AI – will also be attended by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Frontier AI, the most advanced generation of AI models so far, has prompted concerns around everything from job losses and cyber attacks to humankind losing control of the very systems it created.

Sunak and other leaders have increasingly joined the industry itself in arguing that current knowledge and regulation of frontier AI is likely insufficient for the challenges it will pose.

Cover photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP

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