President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday in the U.S. government’s first move to regulate artificial intelligence. CNBC reports that the order issues specific directives to a range of federal agencies, establishes guidance for how federal agencies use AI and creates requirements for some companies that are developing AI tools.
According to a fact sheet on the executive order, companies developing an AI model that poses a “serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety” are now required to share safety test results with the federal government before releasing them to the public.
New large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Google’s Gemini will be subject to the new rule, according to a Forbes article, which also cites concerns of some AI startup leaders about the new directives holding back innovation in the field.
Other directives related to workforce include producing a report on the potential labor market implications of AI, expanding grants for AI research in areas like climate change and modernizing the criteria for highly skilled immigrant workers with key expertise to stay in the U.S., according to the CNBC article. The Department of Commerce will also create guidance for AI watermarking and a cybersecurity program that will develop AI tools to identify vulnerabilities in critical software.
Directives aimed at keeping AI models from furthering discrimination include providing guidance for AI’s use in housing and the justice system, creating resources on responsible AI use in education and directing the Department of Health and Human Services to create a program that evaluates potentially harmful AI-related health care practices.
Part of the order’s effect on the federal government is the plan for the “rapid hiring of AI professionals as part of a governmentwide AI talent search.”
Biden also met with congressional leaders on Tuesday to discuss potential AI legislation, Federal News Network reports.
The executive order follows previous actions by the Biden administration like the voluntary commitments that several large tech companies agreed to in July and the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights released last year.
