Biden AI executive order ‘certainly challenging’ for open-source AI — industry insiders

Last week, US President Joe Biden's administration issued a long executive order aimed at protecting citizens, government agencies and businesses by ensuring AI safety standards.

The order established six new standards for AI safety, along with intentions for the ethical use of AI within government agencies. Biden said the order aligns with the administration's own principles of “security, trust and openness.”

My Executive Order on AI is a testament to what we stand for:

Security, protection and trust. pic.twitter.com/rmBUQoheKp

– President Biden (@POTUS) October 31, 2023

It includes broad mandates, such as sharing security testing results with officials at companies developing “any foundation model that poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety” and “accelerating the development and use of privacy". conservation techniques.

However, the lack of details accompanying such statements has left many in the industry wondering how it could prevent companies from developing top-tier models.

Adam Struck, a founding partner at Struck Capital and an AI investor, told Cointelegraph that the order shows a level of “seriousness around the potential for AI to reshape all industries.”

He also noted that for developers, anticipating future risks under the legislation based on assumptions from products that are not yet fully developed is complicated.

"This is certainly a challenge for companies and developers, particularly in the open source community, where the executive order was less directive."

However, he said the administration's intentions to manage guidelines through AI chiefs and AI governance boards at specific regulatory agencies means that companies building models within those agencies must have a "strict understanding of the frameworks." regulations" of that agency.

"Companies that continue to value compliance, data privacy, and unbiased algorithmic foundations should operate within a paradigm that the government is comfortable with."

The government has already released over 700 use cases on how it uses AI internally through its 'ai.gov' website.

Martín Casado, general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, posted on open. AI.

“We firmly believe that open source is the only way to keep software secure and free of monopolies. Please help amplify,” she wrote.

1/ We have sent a letter to President Biden regarding the Executive Order on AI and its potential to restrict open source AI. We firmly believe that open source is the only way to keep software secure and free of monopolies. Please help amplify. pic.twitter.com/Mbhu35lWvt

— martin_casado (@martin_casado) November 3, 2023

The letter called the executive order “overly broad” in its definition of certain types of AI models and expressed fears that smaller companies would become entangled in the requirements needed for other larger companies.

Jeff Amico, COO of Gensyn AI, also expressed a similar sentiment, calling it “terrible” for innovation in the US.

Biden's AI Executive Order is now in place and it's terrible for American innovation.

These are some of the new obligations, which only large holders will be able to fulfill pic.twitter.com/R3Mum6NCq5

—Jeff Amico (@_jamico) October 31, 2023

Related: Adobe, IBM and Nvidia join US President Biden's efforts to prevent misuse of AI

Struck also highlighted this point, saying that while regulatory clarity can be "helpful for companies that are creating AI-based products," it's also important to note that the goals of "big techs" like OpenAI o Anthropic differ greatly from those of early-stage AI. Opening.

"I would like to see the interests of these early-stage companies represented in conversations between the government and the private sector, as this can ensure that regulatory guidelines are not too favorable only to the world's largest companies."

Matthew Putman, CEO and co-founder of Nanotronics, a global leader in AI-based manufacturing, also told Cointelegraph that the order signals the need for regulatory frameworks that ensure consumer safety and the ethical development of AI on a broader scale.

"How these regulatory frameworks are implemented now depends on the interpretations and actions of regulators," he said.

"As we have seen with cryptocurrencies, harsh limitations have hindered the exploration of potentially revolutionary applications."

Putman said fears about AI's "apocalyptic" potential are "overblown relative to its prospects for near-term positive impact."

He said it's easier for those not directly involved in building the technology to build narratives around hypothetical dangers without actually looking at the "truly innovative" applications, which he says are being carried out out of sight. of the public.

Industries such as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and energy are, in Putman's words, “driving a sustainability revolution” with new autonomous process controls that are significantly improving yields and reducing waste and emissions.

“These innovations would not have been discovered without a determined exploration of new methods. Simply put, AI is much more likely to benefit us than destroy us.”

While the executive order is still fresh and industry insiders are quick to analyze its intentions, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Commerce have has already started soliciting members for its newly created Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security Institute Consortium.

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