Big tech firms leading the development of artificial intelligence have agreed to meet a set of safeguards brokered by the Biden Administration, the White House announced Friday.
The tech companies include Meta which owns Facebook and Instagram, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, as well as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and startups Anthropic and Inflection.
In a statement Friday the White House said it had secured “voluntary commitments” from the leading Artificial Intelligence companies as the Administration has “moved with urgency to seize the tremendous promise and manage the risks posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to protect Americans’ rights and safety.”
The companies are now pledging to regulate themselves to avoid AI spiraling out of control, including promises to do third-party testing and prioritizing medical uses for the burgeoning technology.
The White House added that the companies will also publicly report flaws and risks in their technology, including effects on fairness and bias.
The promises come amid a surge of commercial investment in generative Artificial Intelligence. The tech can write human-like text and churn out new images. It has raised concerns about growing ability to fool people and spread disinformation.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNN Friday morning that the commitments are a “first step.”
“Now we work with our allies, we work with Europe, Japan and the G-7, India, to come up with a global code of conduct, and of course work with Congress,” she said. “Congress will ultimately act here to set forth regulations with teeth.”
The U.S. is among a number of countries that have already been looking at ways to regulate AI tech, including European Union lawmakers who have been negotiating sweeping Artificial Intelligence rules for the 27-nation organization.
