Seven Tech Companies at White House Commit to Prevent AI Risks

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2023 – President Joe Biden announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from leading artificial intelligence companies to manage the risks posed by the technology in the White House Friday.

“Artificial intelligence promises an enormous promise of both risk to our society and our economy and national security but also incredible opportunities,” began Biden in his remarks. Attending the event were President of Microsoft Brad Smith, President of Google Kent Walker, President of Meta Nick Clegg and President of OpenAI Greg Brockman, among other tech leaders.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with tech leaders two months ago to “underscore the responsibility of making sure that products they are producing are safe.” Seven companies – Amazon, AI safety and research company Anthropic, Google, AI startup Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI – agreed to commitments that will be implemented immediately to “help move toward safe, secure, and transparent development of AI technology.”

The commitments seek to uphold key principles that the White House believes are “fundamental to the future of AI,” namely safety, security and trust.

The companies commit to ensuring products are safe before introducing them to the public by running products through internal and external security testing of AI systems before their release. The testing will be carried out in part by independent experts and will protect the public against the most significant AI risks including biosecurity and cybersecurity. Included in this commitment is assurance that the company will share information across the industry, with government, and academia on best practices for AI safety, attempts to circumvent safeguards, and technical collaboration.

Furthermore, the companies commit to putting security first by investing in cybersecurity safeguards and facilitating third-party discovery and reporting of vulnerabilities in AI systems.

Finally, the companies commit to earning the public’s trust by developing robust technical mechanisms to ensure that users know when content is AI generated to reduce dangers of fraud and deception. The companies will also publicly report their AI systems’ capabilities, limitations, and appropriate uses to address bias and fairness. They will also prioritize research on the societal risks that the AI systems can pose and develop and deploy advanced AI systems to address society’s greatest challenges.

“From cancer prevention to mitigating climate change to so much in between, AI – if properly managed – can contribute enormously to the prosperity, equality and security of all,” read the announcement.

“These commitments are real and they are concrete,” said Biden. “They are going to help fulfill industry fundamental obligation to Americans to develop safe, secure and trustworthy technologies that benefit society and uphold our values and shared values.” He expressed his hope that AI will transform and improve the lives of Americans, claiming that he will work with federal agencies to make necessary steps to ensure AI will make a positive impact.

The White House has consulted with 21 different governments around the world about the voluntary commitments.

In October, the Biden Administration announced a blueprint for a first-ever AI Bill of Rights that identifies five principles that should guide the design, use and deployment of AI systems in order to protect American citizens. According to the White House, federal agencies have “ramped up their efforts” to protect American citizens from risks posed by AI technology.

In May, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to root out bias in the design of AI technology and protect the public from algorithmic discrimination.

The White House also announced that it is currently underway to develop an executive order that will pursue bipartisan legislation to “help America lead the way in responsible innovation.”