US Updates National AI Strategy And Calls For Public Input

Following the surge of public interest in artificial intelligence (AI) – largely driven by OpenAI’s consumerization of generative AI with the launch of ChatGPT – policy makers worldwide are hastening to craft strategies and enforce regulations that safeguard public safety while asserting national leadership in this transformative field. In 2021, the OECD released an Overview of National AI Strategies and Policies, and even Malta was on the list. Early this month, for instance, the Japanese government hosted a large panel on AI policy and regulation, initiating the drafting of a national AI strategy. However, while the many countries are developing policies to regulate predominantly US-made AI as there are few sizable local AI players, the US is a clear leader in AI hosting most of the larges generative AI companies, and any policy document may have substantial impact on the field.

May 2023 Updates to the National AI Policies

On May 23rd, 2023, the White House released an update outlining the Biden-Harris administration’s latest initiatives in AI policy under the banner “Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes New Steps to Advance Responsible Artificial Intelligence Research, Development, and Deployment.”

A noteworthy addition to the updated National AI R&D Strategic Plan is an emphasis on a “principled and coordinated approach to international collaboration in AI research.” This shift aligns with President Biden’s broader international diplomacy strategy, representing a push to engage global discussion on data privacy, safety, and AI biases.

Further, an existing strategy from the prior plan, “Make long-term investments in AI research,” has been reframed as “Make long-term investments in fundamental and responsible AI research,” underscoring a commitment to the ethical and responsible development of AI.

National AI Strategies

Overall, the strategies have not changed much from the 2016 and 2019 and the 2023 update continues to uphold the previously outlined strategies:

• Creating effective methods for human-AI collaboration.
• Addressing the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI.
• Ensuring AI systems’ safety and security.
• Developing shared public datasets and AI training and testing environments.
• Establishing standards and benchmarks for AI system evaluation.
• Understanding the national AI R&D workforce needs.
• Expanding public-private partnerships to speed up AI advances.

The Biden-Harris administration aims to understand AI models, robotics, and hardware’s potential capabilities and constraints in areas like climate change, agriculture, energy, and healthcare. The plan encourages the development of general-purpose systems capable of functioning in real and simulated environments. On a positive note, the plan mentioned the word “healthcare” fifteen times and had several references to the use of AI in drug discovery and medicine.

Surprisingly, while the writing team on the report included all major US agencies dealing with the science and technology policy, it did not include any writers from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recently, the FDA issued two papers concerning AI: AI/ML for Drug Development Discussion Paper and Artificial Intelligence in Drug Manufacturing demonstrating the understanding of the field. and calling for comments.

In a bid to engage the public in shaping AI policy, the OSTP has issued a request for information to gather public insights on AI’s impact on national security, democracy, and job loss. This action echoes the administration’s pledge to handle AI risks and opportunities comprehensively and cohesively. This is one of the areas where the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AAIH) and other industry groups could be very helpful.

Additional actions from the administration include releasing a new report on AI’s risks and opportunities in education, updating the federal investment roadmap for AI R&D, and initiating public input on critical AI matters. The administration is also engaging with various economic sectors to understand firsthand experiences with the use of automated technologies for surveillance, monitoring, evaluation, and management.

The updated National AI R&D Strategic Plan, alongside these additional initiatives, signifies the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to responsible AI development. The emphasis on international cooperation, the refinement of existing strategies, and the active solicitation of public input illustrate a balanced, future-oriented approach to AI.

Key Takeaway

The main takeaway from the new policy update is that while the world of AI made a dramatic leap between 2019 and 2023, the changes to the policies and strategies are minor. The absence of drastic changes to the strategies indicates that the US administration likely feels comfortable with the current progress and its clear leadership position. The emphasis on international collaboration and absence of calls for immediate restrictions and terminations indicates that the policies do not carry immediate threats to the industry and the government will continue investing heavily in AI and welcome its adoption in the many industries.